Into the emerald green and immaculate white
by jellybean rose
Summary: Skiing trip plus Bella equals injuries, love, fun, drama, and complete awesomeness. All human. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Twilight characters : but I do own the plot (as far as I'm aware of).**

**Alright you guys, this is my first fanfic in a really long time. This is the Twilight version of my first story, which I abandoned (sorry guys). Anyway, I hope you like it and here's a little something that would clear things up for you.**

**Alice and Bella are best friends.**

**Jasper and Alice are together.**

**Jasper and Rosalie are siblings.**

**Edward and Emmett are brothers.**

**All human.**

**Enjoy.**

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_**Into the emerald green and immaculate white**_

_Was it eight' o'clock already?_ The insane beeping coming from my bedside table was wracking at my brain. I shut my eyes, trying to make it go away. Completely exasperated, I grunted as I reached over and smashed my fist down on the 'off' button hard. _Maybe I don't go to work today? Sounds like a plan…_

My thoughts were immediately interrupted as my door flung off its hinges. I shot up to see if Freddy Krueger decided pay me a visit. I narrowed my eyes as I tried to make out who the blurry figure was. My face drooped when I realized that it was only my energy-crazed roommate. It was times like this when I wondered why the hell I decided to room with her.

It was clear to me that she had come directly from bed. She stood, clutching the door frame, in her crumpled pink jammies and her short, spiky hair pouffed like a bad afro.

"Bella. You. Are. Going. To. Love me!" She squealed a pitch too high for the early hours of the day.

"I'm not really feeling the love right now."

She just grinned widely, completely unfazed by my early morning sarcasm. She ran and dove into the pile of blankets at the end of my bed.

"Ah Bella my dear, you will not be going to work today. In fact, you will not be going to work for the next month! I'm sure they'll be able to find another secretary, there are plenty just lying around the streets!"

She began to ramble and I had no idea what she was on about. "Wha- huh? Why??"

"Why are there secretaries all over the place..? Oh right. Yeah, back on track. Okay, so you won't be going to work for a month because we will be going on a little vacation. I mean, come on! You can't be working the whole of the holidays. You hate that place. Well you hate your job, not your office… I know you think that by working for them you'll be able to make it as-"

"Alice!"

"Alright, alright. Anyways, you've been working way too hard and you need a break. So you see when Jazz invited us to go skiing with him and his sister, he asked me yesterday, I thought that it would be a perfect way for you to get out and see the world beyond the four walls of your bedroom!"

I was slightly dazed by the sudden rush of information. I blinked a couple of times and eventually, my brain caught up.

"Well, I like the confines of my room thank you very much." I stated, feeling that I needed to defend myself a little bit.

She rolled her eyes while simultaneously rolling her body off my bed.

"Come have breakfast and I'll fill you in on the details."

She left me in my room as I thought of what it was we were even talking about. I gave up after a while and dragged my body towards the bathroom. I cleaned up a little and patted my hair down. I was in my own home, who cares?

The aroma of mouth-watering quesadillas filled my head as I walked into the kitchen.

"Mmmmmm, that for me?" I went over and grabbed a juice carton from the fridge and a couple of glasses. I sat at the counter and filled the two glasses. Alice brought over two plates of generously filled, freshly made quesadillas. This was heaven enough for me.

"So about the trip, I know its very short notice but we leave tomorrow."

I snapped out of quesadilla paradise. I stared at her incredulously. "Say what now?"

She sighed, "I knew you would react like this. Come on Bella, live a little. Live life in the present. Stop planning your next move."

I grumbled as I turned my attention back to the, slightly ruined by the atmosphere, deliciousness that was in front of me. I knew by now that I was going on whatever trip this was. There was no point in arguing or fighting back. She won every time.

Curiosity began to twitch inside me. "So, what's this little adventure we're going on?"

Her face lit up as soon as she realized she had won me over, although quite easily this time.

"Oh Bella, we are going to have so much fun!" She began digging into her breakfast. "So Jazz invited us to go skiing with him and his sister, you know Rosalie? I think you've met her before, she's really nice."

I did remember Rosalie, she was hard to forget. She made the world's top models look like ordinary people in comparison to her beauty. It took us a while before we became comfortable enough to talk conversationally. She never looked very friendly, that might have been the intimidation, but I came to know her as a pretty great person.

"Anyway, guess where we'll be going? Switzerland!! Can you believe it?! How awesome is that!"

_Ooo. _My jaw fell open and my eyes were bulging out their sockets. "No way! Oh my God! I've never been to Europe before, this'll be beyond awesome!"

After my excitement subsided, something dawned on me.

"Oh Alice, I just realized. I can't ski."

"Haha, well I'm no good either. We'll take a beginner's class. Plus, there's loads of other stuff to do there!"

The excitement flushed back through me. We both screamed as we jumped around the kitchen. There was so much to do if we were going to leave tomorrow.

Alice chirped between breaths, "Jasper and-"she land on the couch, "Rosalie are already there." She gasped, "We're going to meet them at their chalet. He gave me the directions and everything else."

"Oh! I have to phone work. What do I tell them?"

She suppressed a smirk. "It's already taken care of." Confused, I asked her what was her excuse.

"You decided that your true passion in life was to be in showbiz. I told them that you went to New York to go find yourself and make your way into Broadway. Eventually, you plan on reaching stardom."

She couldn't contain herself any longer as she burst into laughter. Her legs waved crazily in the air as she clutched her stomach in hysterics.

My cheeks began to heat up as I glared at the scene before me. After a while, the corners of my lips twitched. I couldn't help but find it quite hilarious. I could just imagine the look of my boss when he heard that.

I grinned as I left to the kitchen and began clearing up. Alice regained control and it seemed like a light bulb flicked on in her head. She ran and grabbed the corners of the counter. I was a little bit frightened because she was grinning from ear to ear.

"Bella" she began in a mischievous tone, "we need to go shopping!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Puhleese review you guys!**

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A day of shopping with Alice was enough to get a person completely drained of their energy

A day of shopping with Alice was enough to get a person completely drained of their energy. I on the other hand was prepared with my steady supply of red bull. After about five hours, we had bags and bags of pretty ski outfits. I stumbled into our apartment with the heaps of bags I was holding to break my fall. I looked up to see that Alice ran into the closet, dropping everything and came back with five suitcases. She scavenged some from our rooms.

"It's packing time!" she declared as she emptied out the contents of our little shopping spree. Ugh, I hated packing.

I trudged into my room thinking about what I would need for a whole month! I figured that I would be doing some shopping there for obvious reasons. Basically, I grabbed anything I could find that looked warm. I heard Alice yell something about dresses, clubbing and a swimsuit. I picked out some dresses and my bikini, which I assumed would be used in a hot tub.

Hours passed as we continued packing. I put on a movie in the background for the moments when I would get bored. Finally, I filled my two suitcases and left enough space for my future purchases. Alice on the other hand completely stuffed all three of her suitcases with God knows what! They seemed to be on the brink of explosion that I was afraid to stand too close to them.

Before we headed off to bed, Alice announced that we had to be up by six because the plane left at nine. I groaned at the thought of waking up that early. I didn't realize how exhausted I was, because as soon as my head touched my pillow I was out.

**next morning –**

_SLAP!_

My eyes shot open to see a frustrated Alice hovering over me. "Bella get ready! We have to leave in thirty minutes!"

She climbed off of me and ran out of the room grumbling something about me being a fat piece of lard. I staggered out of bed rubbing my eyes. I took a quick shower and changed into my comfy faded and worn out jeans. I decided to wear my favorite I Love Burritos T shirt and I grabbed my oversized green hoodie on my way out to the living room.

I wasn't surprised to find Alice shoving more unnecessary items into her suitcases, which I steered clear from. Alice was completely unaware of my presence as I scooted around her to get to the food. I grabbed some toast and OJ that were waiting for me at the counter. The taxi was supposed to come in 10 minutes. In that time, I tried desperately to tame the brown mess that would be my hair. Frustrated, I decided to go for the stylish messy bun.

The taxi announced its arrival and the driver helped us load our heavy laden into his tiny car. After some struggle, we got them all in. During the drive, Alice and I chatted about what we were expecting. Although in the back of my mind, I was lolling over my nervousness with flying. I'd never travelled this far before and I was beginning to feel queasy. Once we reached the airport, I slipped on my hoodie and put my big shades on. I took a deep breath and walked in.

**Switzerland –**

_Oh sweet, merciful ground! How I love thee so!_

Alice laughed at my expression as we got off the plane. I was truly relieved to back on the sturdy ground. I would have thrown myself on the ground and declared my love for the earth, but I felt that might be too dramatic. She burst into hysterics when I grabbed onto some poor old man for support.

We gathered our luggage and stopped when Alice would pick up souvenirs here and there. We finally reached the exit with Alice carrying bags of Toblerone bars and yodeling teddy bears.

I breathed in deeply trying to steady my stomach, "So, what's the plan lady?"

"We have to rent a car and drive up to that mountain." She pointed to an area on the map she was holding. I wondered why Jasper didn't just pick us up, but Alice said that he told her that she needed to learn how to survive in the 'wilderness'. Alice was pretty good with directions and I trusted her. She was getting pretty excited, "Jazz said it would be about a two and a half hours drive at most."

We got there in four.

Apparently Alice wasn't as confident in her directions as I thought. A couple of missed turns, a lot of pit stops and a lot of honking eventually lead us to the beautiful resort hidden under a blanket of untouched, glorious white snow. I began feeling the full effect of excitement for this trip. I was now jumping up and down in my seat, giddy with anticipation. The only thing that was keeping me from hitting the roof of the tiny car was the seat belt I was strapped into.

We continued to drive up the narrow road, further up the mountain. It was so beautiful. The emerald green trees were surrounded by a coat of immaculate white snow, which hid the entire ground. Huge rocks formed make-shift walls along the chalets. And the chalets were the best part! The colors of the wooden homes ranged from a rich chocolate brown to a fiery orange. Each home had traditional ornaments dangling from the roofs and intricate designs engraved into the wood.

We craned our necks trying to find their chalet. A squeal escaped from Alice's lips as she rounded the corner to find Jasper standing outside. He was completely covered in hats, gloves, boots, scarves and a huge jacket. The only visible parts of him were his eyes and the bridge of his nose, which I could tell was beginning to get runny from the redness of it. "Awww, my poor baby." Alice rolled down the window and stuck out her hand, waving frantically for his attention.

As soon as he saw us, the corners of his eyes crinkled into a smile. He moved aside to let us park. Alice barely cut off the engine and she was already out of the car and into his arms. I let them have their moment while I made sure that the car wasn't going to go anywhere. I stepped out and the chill was biting. I guess I should have expected that considering the amount of clothes Jasper had on.

"Bella! Long time no see, huh?" I was greeted with a polite kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, I know. Wow your place is absolutely gorgeous!" My face was plastered with wide eyes and mouth agape as I scanned the beautiful exterior. His chalet was built with rich, chocolate brown wood. Neat, thick layers of snow were propped on the roof and every ledge. Intricate designs of edelweiss's were carved along the entrance and around the windows.

"Let's go inside, it's freezing! We'll get your stuff later." He ushered us into the very welcoming warmth of his home. The minute we stepped inside the place, all feelings of winter melted away.

A gasp escaped from both Alice and I. The floors were all wooden (the same color as the exterior), except for the living room which was matted in a cream colored carpet. The fire place was round and sat in the center of the living room. The huge cream colored couches that surrounded were to die for. I wanted to drop everything and dive into the comfort that was them. I shook my head a little bit as we moved to continue our tour.

Jasper ran in front of us and stretched out his arms with a goofy grin on his face. "Alors, bienvenue chez le maison de Jasper." Luckily I remembered enough of my high school French to make out most of what he said in a perfect French accent. Alice giggled as she ran to his side.

"Et de Rosalie!"

All heads swooshed around to find Rosalie hands on hips and smirk on face. She chuckled as she came to greet us.

"Alice! How are you?" After a couple of pleasantries she turned her attention to me.

"Isabella, right? Yeah, the last time we spoke was last Christmas. Huh, well we have a lot of time to get to know each other while these two…" She tilted her head to Alice and Jasper and raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"Rose! I will not be ditching Bella this time! As a matter of fact we will be taking beginner's skiing classes together."

"Haha, sure. Whatever." She linked arms with me and escorted me to my room. It was insanely cosy. The room was also carpeted in the same cream color as the living room. The bed was draped in probably ten quilts and I don't know how many huge fluffy pillows.

"Oh my God, Rosalie. This is room looks like its from a Pottery Barn catalogue. Mmmmmmm." I threw myself onto the bed and I was sinking in the fluffiness. Probably the best experience in my life.

"Glad you like it! Now, do you have a boyfriend?"

I sat up, slightly taken aback by the random change of topic, "Um, no."

"Good, because we will be partying it hard this holiday!"

"Haha, well I hope not tonight. I am exhausted!" I flopped back on my cloud for a bed.

"No, of course not. Plus, you need your energy. Your class starts tomorrow morning. Sorry I won't be joining you guys, but I'll see you on the slopes okay?" She patted my arm and left the room. I closed my eyes and sighed in contentment.


	3. Chapter 3

My eyes fluttered open

My eyes fluttered open. _What the…? Where am I? Ohhhh._ It dawned on me that I fell asleep. I got up and looked around. My two suitcases were next to the closet. I looked down and I was still in my hoodie and jeans. I looked at my watch, it was six in the morning. _I better freshen up._

I wobbled over to my suitcases and began searching for my clothes and toiletries. I looked around and realised that I had my own bathroom. _Nice._

I let the hot water run over my body. I could have stayed there for hours. It was the best feeling ever. As always, my relaxation was interrupted.

"Bellaaa!"

_Ugh. _"In here!"

I could feel the steam inside the bathroom begin to disappear as Alice walked in.

"Good, you're up. Okay we have to be ready by seven, and then Jazz will take us to the place. This is going to be so awesome!" She jumped and clapped her hands squealing. I seriously had no idea how one person could have so much energy so early in the morning. She hopped out before I could say anything else.

I decided on my donut T shirt (the Simpson style donut) and white fleece. I put on my goofy stockings and then my brand new white and green ski pants. I grabbed the matching jacket and all of my other skiing essentials: scarf, ski gloves, ski goggles, etc.

I walked into the kitchen to find Jasper making breakfast and Alice sitting on the granite counter. Rosalie was probably still asleep. Alice was in her wearing her white and purple ski pants and her purple turtle-neck fleece.

After a filling breakfast, we began loading our stuff into Jasper's car. We made a stop at a ski rental shop and got our gear. Alice suggested that _I_ needed a helmet, but I refused after being slightly insulted.

We finally got to the place. The snow was thick and already littered with skiers. We met with our group, whose average age turned out to be 10! I was so embarrassed, but Alice didn't seem to care. She was so excited; she was already making friends with some of the kids. And enemies. She maturely stuck out her tongue and walked back to me.

"What a brat!" She rolled her eyes and I couldn't help but laugh at her seriousness.

"Bonjour madames, monsieurs." announced our ski instructor. He was dressed in a red ski outfit, as all instructors were. His ski goggles were propped on his head with his neatly spiked blonde hair. "Je m'appelle Mike. Ma name iz Mike." He laughed at his attempt at speaking English.

He taught us the basics and everyone was amused at _my_ poor attempt to ski. Alice seemed to get it pretty well and so did the other kids. This was not a good day. But I must say that I did have fun, except for all of my falls. Maybe I did need a helmet after all.

We hadn't actually started skiing down any slope yet. So after a couple of hours, Mike led us to a very tame looking slope. I didn't think we would be able to even ski down it since it was almost flat, so I was feeling pretty confident. In order to get to the top, we had to use…

The button lift.

It looked so simple, but in reality, it was deadly. Mike explained how to get on it and it all looked fairly easy. You just straddle the round seat and let it drag you up the hill. I watched how the kids did it with ease and so I decided to go next.

So I did what I was told and put the bar the round seat between my legs and held on. I felt a slight jolt as the machine began dragging me up. I could hear Alice behind me screaming with delight as she was able to do it. Then I decided to put all my weight on the seat. That was a no-no.

My butt was practically touching the snow and I the seat slipped from under me. For some reason I thought it would be best if didn't let go of the bar. That was another no-no.

Instead of me gliding effortlessly up the slope, I was on my stomach being dragged like a dead moose. My skis were getting stuck in the snow and I couldn't hold on to dear life any longer. The pole I was holding onto snapped back and I was sliding down the hill. I was screaming my head off, in unison with Alice because she was my next target. I crashed into her while she tried to keep hold of the pole.

We were so loud that everyone had turned their heads to see what all the commotion was. People from other slopes stopped and stared. From the corners of eyes I saw skiers bent over laughing and others trying to compose themselves.

Alice was close to letting go and we were getting closer to our next victim. Luckily, Mike came to save us. He swooped in not even bothering to hide his laughter. He grabbed us and hoisted out of the way and onto slope. Just when I thought it was over, I began slipping backwards. Alice was on the ground in hysterics, so I decided to follow her lead and I threw myself onto the snow.

"Oh my God. I'm alive." I was breathing deeply, trying to regain my composure after my near death experience. My hands checked my body for any damage. I didn't even want to look up to see what the crowd thought of my performance.

"Haha vous êtes amusantes, vous deux! Ah, I mean you two are funny." Mike said between laughs in his thick French accent.

He helped us ski the short distance down to the bottom of the slope. A couple more tries and I got it, without endangering anyone's life. He taught us how to turn and stop pizza style (a/n: that's when you point your skis together to form a triangular shape).

After many exhausting hours of 'skiing' on that one slope, it was finally time for lunch. So Mike took the whole group down to a restaurant. My whole body was aching for mercy as we walked into the place. The restaurant was very cosy and had a cottage feel to it.

Alice and I took a seat outside on the balcony where we had a great view of the ski resort. If I ignored the pain coming from my unused muscles then everything was perfect. The sun was out, the weather was great, and the skiers and snow boarders swooshed past us with ease, which kind of made me jealous seeing as they were all half my size!

Alice took sat opposite me as she took in a deep breath and smiled baring all her teeth. "This is so great! I'm totally getting the hang out of this skiing business!"

We both started shedding off our coats, gloves and goggles when Mike came over. "Do you mind if I join you ladies?" he said while gesturing to the empty seat between us.

"Oh, sure. Go ahead!" Alice chirped.

After he made himself comfortable, he asked how we were finding our first day of skiing. We made small talk throughout lunch, but Alice kept kicking my leg and tilting her in his direction when he wasn't looking. I understood her very indiscreet signs: wiggling her eyebrows at me, giving me thumbs up, pushing her two index fingers together, humping the table, and having a stupid smile plastered on her face the entire time.

Sure, Mike was a nice guy. His English was actually pretty good. His spikes were all floppy from the snow, which made him look less cocky than he usually was.

Hours passed and we were back on the slope. I was actually getting into it and I was able to make my way down the slope with minimum damage. It was near the end of our class when I started getting a bit cocky myself. Alice and I made our way down the slope before everyone else. I didn't realise how close I was to the edge of a much steeper slope.

Next thing I know, I was going down that slope screaming bloody murder. My ski poles were in the air and I was praying that I won't kill anyone with them. I then stuck them into the snow to try and slow myself down. People were moving out of my way. I could hear Alice at he top screaming for me to break. I tried to pizza stop but that just made me lose the little balance I had left. I looked up to see a snowboarder chugging down some water in my path of destruction. He was completely unaware of what was heading his way. Just when he turned around, I was close enough to hear his last words.

"What the–?"

CRRAAASSHHHHHHHHHHH

I bashed full force right into him. My skis got stuck under his board, so I flipped forward carrying him with me. Both of our equipment snapped off our feet as we crashed forward down the slope and into the snow. The whole journey I was screaming with whatever air I had left in me. Fortunately for me, he was underneath me to break my fall. Poor guy.

Seconds past until I realised we were no longer airborne. We were both on the ground, with me on top. No one moved. I tilted my head to see the wreckage I had caused; there were skis and ski poles strewn everywhere along with his board, which was propped neatly where he had just stood.

"Holy crap! Oh my God! Are you okay?? Oh crap, oh crap."

My head shot up and I propped myself on him with my legs on either side. I started patting him down to see if any limbs were broken. I was trying to catch every breath that my eyes were finding it hard to focus. I pulled my goggles off to try and see if his head was cracked. I breathed, "I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry."

"Erghhhmmmmah." _Oh. That's good. That's a response!_

He pulled his goggles over his head, and squinted to see who this person was, who had almost killed him and was now straddling him.

I stared into his piercing green eyes searching for any signs of… life. And there it was; intense and fierce as his eyes bore into mine. There was a moment where nothing else was heard except for our deep breaths. My brown hair fell in front of me and created a curtain around us. It was just me and this stranger. His hair was a deep auburn colour that looked effortlessly hot, for the lack of better a word, even in a moment like this. His eyes were a green that resembled the intensity of the forests surrounding the resort. There was a hint of mystery that mirrored that of the forests.

I had no idea what was going on. I couldn't break away from his gaze until I realised how close our faces were; our noses were almost touching. I gasped as I pulled myself away. I felt almost sad.

"I'm good, it's alright" he croaked. He now propped himself on his elbow to get a better look.

Relief washed over me; he was alive. I was so overcome with gratitude that I threw myself onto his chest muttering to thank you's to however it is that controlling my fate.

"Bella! Bella, are you okay?!" Alice's scream broke me out of the little world I was in. She came sliding to me on her bottom, flailing around like a mad man.

"Huh? OH! Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry. Really, I really am sorry. Are you alright?" I jumped off of whoever I was sitting on immediately. The small crowd that had gathered began to disperse.

He chuckled to himself as he hopped up with ease, brushing the snow off his shoulders. I sat amazed on the slope.

"Hehe, here let me help you." He offered his hand after he stretched his shoulders back. I gladly took it.

He was still holding my hand as I wobbled to regain my balance. He whistled, "that was some crash, huh? Are _you_ okay?"

I was baffled by the sincerity in his voice. I mean I almost killed the man! "Heh, yeah I'm okay." I felt my cheeks begin to heat up, so I threw my eyes to the ground to hide my embarrassment. I stole a peek to see smiling with a crooked grin on his face. I thought I was going to melt in his grasp.

I slipped my hand away as I began looking for my stuff. _One glove, check. Ah ha, two gloves check. Goggles… goggles? Oh, check._ I scanned the area for my ski poles and my skis for that matter.

I turned around to find this guy walking over to me, skis and ski poles in hand. "Here you go." I just dug them into the snow instead of putting them on. I think it was for the safety of everyone around that I didn't put them on.

"Thanks." I mumbled while I felt the redness come back to my cheeks.

"Yo! Hey man, you alright? Cool. Now hurry your ass up!" I jumped at the sudden whoosh of snow as, presumably his buddy, dropped by on his snowboard. "Come on bro."

"Alright, alright." He already had his gear on and his boots were strapped in. He turned to me, his face full of concern. "Are you sure you're fine?" I meekly nodded.

For some reason he seemed hesitant, or maybe I was just imagining it for my hopeful benefit. "Okay… Well try not to crash anymore? You take care."

He put his goggles back on and tucked his chin into his plaid fringe-trimmed scarf. He jumped with his board to get rid of the snow and zoomed off down the steep slope like a pro with his friend on his tail.

"Bellaaa!"

_Alice…? Alice._ I looked up to see Alice running as fast as her ski boots could take her towards me.

Oof. The air was sucked right out of me once more. I had to pry her surprisingly strong arms off of me to catch my breath.

"Bella, are you okay?? Who was that guy?"

I finally removed the last finger. "Alice, I'm fine! See? No broken bones, nothing. Although I kind of used that guy as my pillow, hehe. I'm not so sure how he is, but he seemed perfectly fine."

"Oh my God, Bella. You're insane!"


	4. Chapter 4

**If you guys are interested, I posted up a link on my page to a drawing I made of a certain scene from Chapter 3, which I am sure you would be able to guess. So that's just a little something extra which I hope you enjoy. It's pretty much what I had in mind when I was writing that part.**

**By the way, later on in this chapter you will probably be like 'NO! WTF??' But no worries, this is an Edward/Bella fanfic. :**

**Keep reviewing! :**

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"Jazz!"

Jasper flinched at the sudden noise as Alice and I scooted into his car. "Eh, yes Alice?"

"Oh my Gosh! You should have seen what Bella did today! She almost killed herself and everyone who was in her path!"

Alice's voice became higher and higher. She didn't seem to notice that by now, Jasper and I were backing into our seats; trying to get as far away from her as possible.

"What else is new?" he muttered. I shot him a glare, and he just grinned apologetically.

"Seriously, Jasper! She finally stopped when she crashed into this snowboarder guy! I thought you guys were dead! It was like a massacre, ski stuff everywhere along with the guy's snowboard! It was really weird though. The guy just upped and left like it was no biggie! But anyways, we were all relieved that Bella was no longer threatening the lives of anything that was in a 10 feet radius!"

Alice broke out in a fit of giggles while Jasper was trying to suppress his own laughter. My cheeks reddened. So I crossed my arms and kept quiet the whole ride back, trying to make my anger convincing. I couldn't stop thinking about that snowboarder. His face kept clouding my thoughts. I repeated the entire 'conversation' we had over and over again in my head. He was so mysterious and… sexy. _I nearly killed the guy and I'm thinking he's sexy! Alice was right, I am insane._

Alice and Jasper walked into the kitchen, shredding their last bits of laughter. Rosalie was sitting on the countertop when I entered and she had this weird, giddy smirk on her face.

"Hey Bella-boo." _Bella-boo?_ "Looks like someone has a date with a mister Mike."

"What?"

"Yeah he called. Apparently he's your ski instructer. Sounds hot."

Alice called out from the other room. "Whooa. Sounds more like creepy! Haha."

"Yeah, sorry Rose but I'd have to side with Alice on this one!"

"What? So he's not hot?"

"No, he is! It's just, I don't know. There's something about him that just makes me feel iffy."

"Haha, well I told him that you're going. Oops!" Rosalie tried to give me her biggest, most innocent smile in the world. It worked.

"Fine. Whatever, but you're coming along! I need a wing-man!"

"Haha loser! But sure I'll join you guys 'cus you're going to Club Ice **(a/n: cheesy, I know!)**. It is sooo nice there!"

"Clubbing, huh?"

"Yeah, that place is insane! You'll have so much fun! Plus, if you're not liking the date, you can easily ditch him."

"Not so easy. He is my ski instructor… Oh crap. That's going to be awkward."

By then Alice joined us in the kitchen and burst out laughing as she imagined it. "So, when's this happening?"

"Date night, Friday of course. This guys follows the guidelines. Haha."

"Arghh, crap. That means two classes with the guy. _That's_ going to be awkward!" I buried my face in my arms dreading those two days.

"Aww, Bella. You know what, I'm feeling sorry for you. I can call to change instructor, for language reasons."

I must have looked liked a child who was offered a tub of candy. She smiled brightly, patted me on my head and hopped off to make the arrangements. I was truly touched by that gesture (not the patting on head, that's just patronizing), I could have cried considering it was Alice.

After dinner, I withered off into my room. The bed seemed so far away, but I pushed through! My reward was the luxurious sheets and duvet enveloping me into sleep.

* * *

My nose dragged me forward as it followed the scent of bacon and eggs and toast and baked beans. My nose and I were half way there as my mouth began watering. I had to gulp once we reached the kitchen. Squealing with delight, I rushed to my seat and began serving myself. I know, I'm a fat hoe.

"Bella!" plop splat

My hand froze in the bread basket and I became bug-eyed as if I was caught red-handed. Well I kind of was, but anyway. I twisted my head to see what was going on. Jasper was gripping onto the counter for support, pan in hand. My eyes followed the direction of the tilted and empty pan. I sighed in disappointment as I discovered a wonderful looking omelet splattered on the floor.

"Geez, Bella you startled me. I didn't hear you come in!"

"Heh…. Oops." I hopped off my seat to help him clean up before being swatted away. I crossed my arms and leaned on the counter upset that my help was rejected.

"Ugh, fine. You can make the coffee." I sprang out of my stance and into action with the mission in mind.

I gently placed the coffee pot into the machine. I grinned to myself as I was content with my accomplishment. I turned my attention back to Jasper who was starting on another complicated looking omelet.

"You know Jasper; you don't need to make so much food. There are only four of us here; three of which who are girls."

"Yeahh, but you guys still need something to eat, so I'll give you guys some variety. Besides I don't mind the rewards of my cooking." He smiled to himself at some inside joke, which left me befuzzled.

Just then, Alice bounded into the kitchen. She was immediately at the edge of the table and leaning over to see the mouthwatering layout. She turned to Jasper with a big, loving smile. She skipped over to him and smothered him with kisses. He shot me look. _Ohhhhhhhhhhh. _That _kind of reward._ I smiled at the cuteness of those two and made my way back to breakfast.

* * *

"You ready?"

I grunted in response as Alice and I waddled over with our gear to our new instructor. He was our personal instructor, which seemed pretty cool. And he spoke English!

"Hey you guys! Are you two Alice and Isabella?"

"We sure are. You can just call Bella." I tried to seem as chirpy as possible.

He laughed, taking my chirpiness as sarcasm. "Cool. You can just call me Jacob." He shook our hands with a grin slapped on his face.

"Let's get going." He lead the way to the same bunny slope (a/n: kiddie slope). I took the opportunity to take in his features.

He had short, jet black hair that was spiked in a messy way. He wore fancy ski sunglasses and had the same red suit as every instructor. He was surprisingly very tall. I didn't realize until he walked over to Alice to help her carry her stuff. As he made his way to the slope carrying all of that gear with ease, Alice watched with a goofy smile on her face. I smacked her head when I passed her, which caused her to snap out of her little trance.

"Jasper." I reminded her.

She looked shocked. "What? There's no rule that I can't admire nature's beauty! I expected you to be doing the same!"

I looked back at Jacob to see him waiting for us. He propped his sunglasses on his head to reveal these beautiful black eyes. _Not too shabby._ I simply shrugged and continued on.

The class went on well. It was nice; there was no pressure from any snooty little kids. It was all very relaxed; I surprisingly very comfortable with Jacob. We talked as if we had been friends since first grade. I was actually looking forward to tomorrow's class.

Aside from all of skiing, fun and chatter, whenever I would see a snowboarder, like a reflex I would try to see if it was him. If it was that guy I crashed into; if it was the guy who wandered around in my thoughts. Although, I didn't want him to go away. I had this strange urge to find him and be with him. I just kept reminding myself that I was crazy.

By the end of the day, we were almost skiing down the bunny slope like pros. Almost. I stayed away from the edges of any other slope, or any people. The cue for the button lift was enough to get me sliding into people and getting caught under their skis.

Alice and I waved to Jacob as he dropped us off at the parking area where we waited for Jasper to pick us up. I was beginning to enjoy this little routine.

When we got to the house, dinner was already prepared. We 'mm-ed' and 'ahh-ed' at the different dishes. We generously filled our plates and plopped ourselves onto the carpeted floor of the living room. The fireplace was blazing and we wrapped the blankets around us. Jasper joined us and snuggled in next to Alice. They were being all cute and coupley as he fed her bits of food. She would nip it from his fingers and kiss him as a thank you.

After an hour or two, Rosalie arrived from a day of skiing with her fancy European friends. We all made fun of her by shooing her away claiming that she was too high class for the likes of us. She was taken aback for a split second, but then her face fell into a smirk as she retorted "I am." Yeah, that was a burn.

She made herself a plate and sat next to me to share the blanket. We told each other stories of our day, of our past, of our plans for the future. We were up till late in the evening as Jasper served us second rounds of hot chocolate, with marshmallows and whipped cream! It was perfect.

* * *

I opened my eyes to find myself in a sea of green. I slowly sat up to find that I was laying in a meadow. It was beautiful. The sun reflected off of the blades of grass and the wind swayed the wild flowers back and forth. I breathed in the freshness that cleared my entire body. I felt as if the air was going through my veins, cooling my body as it did. My hands stroked the tall grass as I closed my eyes and listened to the humming wind.

I pushed my hair back to find a flower tucked behind my ear. I recognized it as freesia. It shimmered in the sunlight as I twisted it in my fingers. I turned my body around and I was suddenly in the arms of someone. Someone strong and familiar. I looked up and was caught in the gaze of a pair of green eyes. They were greener than the grass and glistened like the flower did. He smiled a crooked smile that made my heart melt. I was brought back to life as his hand caressed my cheek and rested just under my chin. He drew my face closer to his and I willingly agreed. We did not break from each other's stare. I could feel his breath on my lips and I closed my eyes to take it in.

Gasp My eyes shot open and a wave of heat struck me. I felt burdened, like something heavy was on me. My eyes searched my surroundings finding nothing. It was dark. So I resorted to my hands who roamed the area. I was still lying down and my hands clutched onto whatever was on me. It was soft and fluffy and crinkly. My hands continued their expedition until it clicked in my head that I was in a bed. I blinked repeatedly and by instinct, stretched over and switched on the bedside lamp.

It was only a dream.

I flooded with disappointment as I realized that I was in Jasper's guest room. I sighed and sunk into my pillow. I shut my eyes trying to fall back asleep and get the dream back. About forty-five minutes had passed and there was nothing. Exasperated, I threw off the covers and trudged into the bathroom.

I stood in the hot shower for an hour. My eyes were closed as I revisited the dream, making sure I didn't forget anything. Of course, the only things I did remember were flashes but I still refused to lose them. Was I becoming some obsessed, stalker freak?! _I was now dreaming of this guy!_

_You know what, I have to get over him. It's not like I'll ever see him again. Alice is right. Maybe I should start checking out my options… of course there's that date with Mike, but Jacob isn't a bad place to start._

I now had my target set in mind and was ready to take on the day. I prettied myself up and brushed up on my flirting skills. I could hear the clanging of pots in the kitchen while I brushed my hair. A smile crept onto my face as I imagined the sort of gourmet breakfast awaiting me. I skipped along the corridors in a surprisingly pleasant mood. Perhaps it was that I now had a new plan and the boost of confidence that followed.

"Bella is entering the premises!" I announced as I popped my head into the kitchen.

"Thanks for the heads up." Jasper immediately dropped his pans back onto the stove and backed away.

I snorted as I took a seat at the table. As usual, Alice popped in all bright and cheery and made her way over to Jasper, who took her in his arms willingly.

They soon broke away and delivered the food to the table. What I look forward to every morning. Throughout breakfast, I explained my plan to Alice who was getting a bit too excited. That made me a little nervous about what she might be planning herself.

After we filled ourselves, we headed out to the slopes. As soon as we got there, we saw Jacob in his red outfit as usual, waiting for us up ahead. My eyes narrowed in determination as I went through the few flirting moves I knew.

_Okay Bella, lets work your magic._


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay you guys, apparently my chapters are really short. I didn't realize until my sister pointed it out so I apologize. So, here is a super long one to make up for it. :)**

**Oh yeah sorry this chapter has been really, really delayed. I've been at this art program so it's been really hard to get any typing done.**

* * *

"Jacob! How are you?" I put on my prettiest smile and batted my eyelashes.

"Good, Bella. You?"

"Great! So, you going to teach me the good stuff today?" I bit my lip as I held the eye contact. I swear I saw a look of confusion and amusement flash on his face, but I wasn't sure. I just pursed my lips together as I waited for his answer.

"Heh we'll see. Although I still don't think we'll be doing the bigger slopes just yet."

"Oh okay. I'm sure with your help I'll be a pro by tomorrow." I gave him a little sexy smile, well at least I thought it was along the same lines as one, and walked over to put on my skies. I turned my head to flash a smile when crashed into what seemed to a cushy wall. I fell backwards, luckily I was able to keep myself up. Frazzled, I looked up to see a rather large skier turn his head slowly to see what that itch was.

"Oh! Par-don mon-sieuur." He simply huffed and waddled away. _Oh no. I hope he didn't see that._

I stole a glance to find him vibrating in silent laughter. I groaned and trudged over to Alice who had a smile that said "Good try. Better luck next time." I smacked her shoulder and she took it back immediately.

I shoved my boot into my ski and waited for him to come over to us. My day was not starting very well. I rested my chin on my ski poles and played out what had just happened in my head.

"Okay you guys, lets head up." _Alright I am not giving up. I already made a huge hooplah about it so I have to go through with it or I'll never here the end of it from Alice... Okay I am so doing this._

Once we reached the top of the hill I began turning on my charms again. We were waiting for Alice who conveniently fell back a couple of times. I decided to take this opportunity.

I grabbed his arm for balance as I pretended to fix my boot. I slid my hand down his arm until I rested them on his ski pole. He obviously noticed what I was doing, but I just continued to play it out. I began fiddling with the strap and looked at him through my eyelashes. "So how long have you been skiing? You're amazing!" _Oh god, I sound like some dumb American to him!_

"Uh, I guess since I was a kid. So pretty much all my life."

"I see. So… does your girlfriend ski with you?" I tried to look as innocent as possible. Probably didn't work out too well.

"Hahaha! Ah Bella. You're such an awesome person, so I'll tell you."

I completely deflated. _It's been what? 8 minutes of my flirting and I've already gotten rejected! What is wrong with me?! I knew this plan was a mistake!_

He saw me sink into the ground and laughed even more. He grabbed me by shoulders so that I was forced to look at him. His face was filled with naked amusement, which made me upset.

"Bella, I'm gay." _Say what now?!_

I was so confused. I was staring at him as if he told me he was a giant green hippo! "Wha…?"

"Yeah, haha, have been since my teenage years." He straightened up and pulled into a half hug. He rested his head on mine and I could still feel his chuckling. Alice pulled up in front and she had a huge smile on her face and gave me two thumbs up. My mouth was still open and my eyebrows were still furrowed in complete confusion.

I finally cleared my throat, "Crap." He moved his head to face me and lifted an eyebrow.

I sighed, "I can't believe that my attempt at flirting ended up being with someone who is interested in the same sex as I!! Ugh I'm useless!"

"Hahahaha! Aw, Bella. I would have totally been interested if I were straight. I swear!" My face reddened at his mockery. Alice was making her way towards us. "Let's just get down this thing okay?"

I started down the slope until I heard a shriek of laughter, which could only belong to Alice. I assumed he filled her in on what happened. Lunch wasn't any better. Alice and Jacob were finding different ways to make my face turn into a darker shade of red.

"It's okay Bella! At least there's no chance of you trying to get with a lesbian, right? Hahaha."

"Oh well, you might find it a bit tricky with those tranny types! Hahahaha!"

I went through all of that in silence as they continued to jab jokes of mockery at me. Alice and Jacob were practically falling off their seats. Jacob was clutching the edge of the table while covering his teary eyes with his other hand. Alice was grabbing her stomach while she continued to tap her forehead on the table. I was going to warn her that she might get a unicorn head but I decided to let her have it. That was my piece of revenge. I grinned evilly to myself as I stared at these to retards making fools of themselves.

As we were walking back to the slopes, they were still recovering from their hysterics.

"Oh Jacob, is Mike gay? Hahaha. Do you know him? He's also an instructor." Alice had a crazy grin on her face as she dodged my flying hand.

"Hahaha, oh that Mike. Nah he's not… although he might be woman in disguise!" they burst into another round of hysterics and high-fived each other.

"Haha, why hehe, do you ask? Hahaha!"

"Oh, haha, 'cus Bella has a date with him tonight."

Jacob cleared his throat immediately and his face became serious. "Really?" His eyes shifted from Alice to me.

"Uh yeah. He called when I wasn't there and my friend agreed for me. Why?"

"Oh. Nothing. The guy's just a douche bag that's all."

I guess it was my turn to laugh. "Haha, why do say that?"

"There's just something about him… maybe he's not, but he's a bit too cocky for his own good. His thing ain't that big."

Alice and I bent over laughing. Jacob simply shrugged, "What? I know I'm right."

"Ah Jacob, I'm so glad you're not straight! Haha." I went over and linked arms with him.

"Mhmm. So am I. Well, even if he is an ass you have to wear something hot to make him grovel on his knees for more." His eyebrows went up and down at a speed I did not think possible. "So where is this date happening?"

"Club…snow? No wait, its ice. Club Ice." He halted in his steps, pulling me back.

"No way. You definitely need to go shopping my dear. Club Ice is no joke! I've seen those cute little taco shirts you have and they won't do."

I pouted at his insult to my attire. "Well, actually I wa – "

"YES! We have to go shopping! Jacob take us now!!" Alice was in front of Jacob in a second grabbing the collar of his jacket and pulling him down to her level.

"Yeah sure, after we finish today." Jacob tried to pull back and pry her tiny little fingers off. With no success he looked to me with panicky eyes. Alice simply pulled him closer, tilted her head with her menacing eyes still locked with his. She ordered "Now."

"Alright! Calm down lady!" he held his hands up in defeat as she let go and began marching to the car park. Jacob looked to me for an explanation. I shrugged and followed suit.

I called out, "Congrats Jacob. That was your first experience with one of Alice's major shopaholic episodes. You did good." I gave him a grin telling him to hurry up or that wasn't going to be his only one. He quickly rushed to my side shaking his head.

"Strange…"

"Yeah, don't test her. Seriously, it's for your own safety."

We loaded up in his car and headed off into the center where all of the shops were.

Alice and Jacob were meant to be. They sailed through the boutiques dragging me along. I really didn't have any say in the matter as they shoved me into dressing rooms and dumped mounds of clothes onto me. I had to try every single one and it was not easy with all of the gear I still had on.

Once or twice I would find something I liked, but each time I got the same reaction from them. I held up a plain navy blue dress with a v-neck empire waistline. They tilted their heads and tapped their fingers on their chin. Finally they both grimaced and shook their heads. Alice snatched it out of my hands and threw it into the 'no' pile.

We were now in boutique number 6 with coffee as our only purchase. Oddly enough, I was the only one discouraged by our lack of finds. Alice and Jacob still raced through the racks picking out ever dress they could find. Unlike me, they refused to give up.

That was their whole strategy. They would grab every single dress in the shop, then sort through them as they handed them to me. From inside the changing room I could hear them bickering about whether or not the dress was 'clubby' enough or not. I was struggling to put on this fitted, silky purple number when suddenly my body felt a gust of air. My arms were still wedged inside the dress as it lay stuck over my head. I could barely make out a figure holding the curtain back. A shriek pierced my ears, until I realized it was me. I twisted and turn to try and cover up my bare body but I was stuck.

A second shriek was heard, which came from no one other than Alice. She held the curtain completely open for the world to see. She was holding a bundle of dresses which she immediately dropped. She was down with the clothes on the flower going hysterical. Jacob rushed in to see what was going on, and then he was suddenly along side Alice, whose face had gotten red from the hard laughter.

I was still stuck. I had no idea what they were laughing about. I mean it was funny, but not _that_ funny. About 3 minutes passed until Alice began catching her breath. She was taking in deep breaths and her eyes were bulging out of the sockets. She leaned on the side of the cabin and was shaking her head like a mental person.

"Ahaha, Bella, hahaha." She gasped.

I urged her to continue by nodding on. "You're… you, hahahaha … are wearing … hahahaha … thermal underwear! Bahahahhahahahaha!!" She was down again.

I leaned forward to confirm that I was indeed wearing thermal underwear. I remembered that my bottom had gotten very cold during the past classes. So I got myself a pair of thermal undies. I looked up and felt my cheeks heat up. They turned from a tomato red to crimson in seconds. I searched for some place to hide, but those two devils had exposed my only hide out possible.

I was worried that I would start sweating from the heat and that would be even more embarrassing. I quickly wriggled out of the death trap that was this dress and grabbed the curtain, pulling this show to a close.

"You guys are so stupid! Everyone uses thermal underwear!!" I had to yell at them to at least try and regain my long lost dignity. I let out a gruff sigh, "Okay we're done here!"

Before I could even get my shirt on Alice was shoving dresses into the cabin at lightning speed. "No, Bella! I'm sorry! We're sorry! Just try these on real quick. I promise we won't say I word about anything except the dresses!" She sounded so desperate, it scared me a little. I still needed something to wear, so I agreed.

The 54th dress of the whole day was a charm. This was the one dress that all three of us agreed with. It was a silk, aqua blue strapless dress covered in beautiful patterns of different shades of blue. It had an empire waistline with a sweetheart neckline. It fit my body like a dream. Arrogant as it may sound, it was still gorgeous. I kind of wished it wasn't for a date with Mike, but as Rose said, I can always ditch him. I also went back and bought a nice pair of strappy silver stilettos at boutique number 4. Of course Alice and Jacob picked up a few stuff for themselves along the trip.

Alice invited Jacob for dinner so that he can see the finished piece before I head off. I could also imagine how tired he was from all of that running around. I know I was, and I had a club to go to later on! During the ride back, I dozed off to the speedy chatter about a cashmere cardigan they should have bought.

* * *

"Bella?"

smack

"Bella!"

I jolted at the sudden pain on my left cheek. I squinted my eyes to see Alice pulling me out of the car. Like a child woken up from a nap, I grumbled and tugged my hands away. My lips were in a frown and my eyebrows furrowed together. Finally, Alice and Jacob dragged me out and pushed me into the house. We already arrived. I flicked them off before entering and they both threw their heads back laughed and continued to push me in.

Once we were all inside and our moods had leveled out, Jasper came in to greet Alice and had a surprised look on his face when he noticed that there was another man in the house. Automatically he pulled Alice to his side and rested his arm around her hip.

"Oh, Jasper this is our ski instructor, Jacob." Alice motioned to Jacob who had a bright smile on his face.

Jasper cleared his throat and shook his hand, "Hey man. What's up?" Sheesh did he have to be all manly about it?! Alice and I exchanged puzzled looks. We just rolled our eyes and shook our heads.

"Shopping!" Jacob and Alice giggled together. Jasper was obviously troubled by Alice's new buddy and protectively pulled her closer.

"Ugh!" Alice rolled her eyes for the millionth time at his behavior and pecked him on his forehead. She then whispered in his ear and he immediately relaxed and smiled at Jacob.

"That's cool. I'm glad that Alice now has a shopping buddy who could keep up with her." He was even gladder that her new buddy was gay.

I began preparing some snacks while they chatted away. "Oh no you don't!" _Shit. They caught me._

I was dragged into my room with my jam smeared knife and slice of toast at hand.

"We have to get you prettied up girly!" Alice ran around the entire house collecting every bit of make up she could find. Jacob sat me down on my bed while he dressed up my hair.

"Bella! What is up with this hair? Do you not brush it, at all?" Jacob continued complaining as he struggled with one of the many knots in my hair. There was nothing I could do about it. So I simply shrugged and quietly ate my toast.

I heard a few clinking noises at the doorframe. I looked up to see Alice frazzled with stacks of makeup up to her chin. Brushes and eye shadow were falling to the ground as she wobbled over to us.

"Ohmygosh" she breathed out. She pushed the mound of make up and spread them all out. Forgetting about all of the dropped items, she scratched her chin and tapped her dainty foot as she tried to figure out what to use.

I followed the trail of fallen cosmetics with amusement. My eyes looked up to find Alice squinting right in my face. I instinctively jumped back, but was reprimanded by a very concentrated Jacob.

My two makeover artists tugged and brushed and complained for what seemed to be eternity. After two endless hours, they decided I was fit enough to be dressed. Alice insisted she put the dress on me because she didn't trust that I wouldn't get my makeup smeared on it. Well her help didn't do anything since I still got it smudged just a little. Alice didn't have to be such a poof about it though.

After a long and tiring hour, I was finally able to see the world outside of the traumatic four walls. Immediately, I ran to the kitchen to find a familiar gourmet meal waiting for us. I had already sat myself down at the table and was reaching over to the bowl of heavenly smelling pasta. I froze mid-reach when I heard screaming coming from down the hall.

"Bella! Nooooooooo!" Alice and Jacob lunged at me with napkins at hand. "My gosh, Bella. Do you _want_ to stain the beautiful dress after all the work we've done?" They tutted and shook their heads as they tucked napkins along the neckline of my dress. I felt like a three year old as they did this. It didn't help my embarrassment when Jasper walked into the scene. He just sat down and filled up his plate. He made no effort to even hide his amusement.

He finally saw my misery and decided to help. "Alice, why don't you come and eat?" _My savior!_

I felt her tighten up and she shot him a daring look. Jacob also noticed this power struggle and decided to help out. "It's okay Alice. She's good. Go eat." She shifted a little and finally she sauntered to sit opposite Jasper and next to me. Jacob eyed her and fluffed the napkins to please her. She accepted his effort and moved on to glaring at Jasper.

The continued this staring game for a couple of minutes until he leaned over the table and kissed her. She gave in after that.

After the delicious meal, which I could not enjoy because of Alice and Jacob catching every drip, I was rushed to the mirror for touch ups.

"Ready to go?" We all looked to find Rosalie standing in the hallway pulling her keys out of her purse. It took me a while to understand her because I completely forgot that she was there.

She was wearing a short, red dress good enough to make every man in a room turn give her their full attention. Except not exactly in this room seeing as one of the two men was her brother and the other was gay. Although Jacob still gave in some input. "Damn girl! That is one sexy dress on those pair of legs!" He bobbled his head as he imitated the everyday straight man.

"Um, I'm sorry who are you?" We all burst out in laughter. We all just realized that they haven't met yet.

"Rose, this is Jacob; our ski instructor. Jacob, this is Jasper's sister Rosalie." I motioned back and forth to the two of them.

"Oh right! The new ski instructor. Cool." They exchanged a few pleasantries then it kind of got awkward. Rosalie then turned to me and asked if was ready to leave yet.

I got the hint so we headed off. Jacob also decided to leave so that Alice and Jasper can have some alone time.

"Take care girls and have fun! It was nice meeting you Rosalie. Bella, I want all the details on Monday!" Jacob called out as he headed towards his car.

"Sure thing! See you then and thanks for helping me out today!" Rosalie already had a taxi waiting for us. By now it was 11.30, which was when the club started opening. We were kind of early but it took a while to get there.

We talked the whole way and we started getting really pumped up. We even asked the driver to turn up the techno music so we could start our party early. Although, we did have quite a tough time getting him to switch from the opera station.

After about 45 minutes of Sandstorm blasting inside the tiny vehicle, the taxi stopped, the music stopped and the driver turned around to get paid. We split the fare and headed towards the iron heavy weight door. I looked at the two bouncers guarding the door and the line of cold people stretching around the block. I groaned at the sight of the cue and I was not looking forward to waiting all night.

Like reading my mind, Rosalie walked up to the bald and big bouncer swaying her hips and fluffing her hair. "Salut Jean." She greeted him in perfect French. _How does she know his name?_

"Madame Hale." He simply nodded to the other bouncer who opened the door for us. I was stunned. "Bella, come on." Rosalie called for me and strutted in. The music exploded the second we were in; it was almost inaudible. The strobe lights blinded us momentarily as they passed over us. After our eyes finally adjusted, I scanned the packed club; it was massive. I would never have expected to find club like this up in the mountains. As we walked down the steps, we were on the first floor. I noticed that there was a hole in the center of the floor; I leaned over the railing to find the ground floor, which was crowded by flimsy dressed women grinding with willing guys. I looked straight ahead of me where the DJ was in his booth with some more flimsy dressed women. I didn't realize that there were this many people here, but most of them seemed to be tourists; they were doing the same thing as me.

Rosalie linked arms with me and we made our way to the bar. It took a while to get there, because of the crowds of people. We had to maneuver our way through them all and then plopped ourselves on a pair of free stools.

I suddenly jolted as I felt someone's hand push against the small of my back. I immediately swung my head to see who the asshole was. I recognized the neatly spiked hair and the cocky smirk.

"Ladiezzz." It was my former ski instructor, Mike.

I squirmed out of his touch and forced a smile. "Hey Mike." I cringed as he leaned in to kiss my cheek. "So what will you be drinking?"

"Uh ahh, I'm not sure."

He nodded to the bartender and motioned him forward. "Un sex on the beach pour la dame." He then turned to me, "Ironic, eh? What about your lovely friend?"

Rosalie stood up, "I'm going to freshen myself up."

_Yes! Thank you Rose! There's my exit._ "Oh, I should go freshen up too."

"Sit back down Bella, you look great!" Rosalie gave me a little thumb up and disappeared into the crowd. I was about to get all puffy and angry, but was distracted when Mike stroked my arm as he swiftly took her seat.

"I must say Bella, you look very sexy tonight." All I could do was smile and try to hide my face from him. It was perfect timing when the bartender handed me my drink. I lunged for it and started sipping.

After about an hour and a half of him talking about his past skiing career and me sipping; I was on my third drink and slightly tipsy. For some reason, I felt someone was watching me, but it could have just been the alcohol.

"How about we start dancing?" He dragged me to the center of the club and pulled me closer to him. The music was blaring and starting to influence me. I was swaying all sorts of ways and swinging my head to what I thought was the beat. Every time he tried to close the space, I wriggled out of his grasp.

I began to lose my focus as well as my balance. Mike seemed to sense that so he whispered into my ear to find somewhere quieter. I made a face at his proximity to mine, but my judgment was impaired. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me to the back door. We ended up outside on the balcony, in the snow. For some reason, I couldn't tell the difference in temperature as I stood out there in my slinky dress.

At the blink of an eye, I felt lips crash onto mine and my back smash up against the wall. I couldn't pull together what was going on; all I knew was that I did not want to be there. My instincts took over and I struggled to push him off of me. I tried pushing him off, but I ended up slipping. He grabbed my waist and hoisted me back up. He finally let go of my lips and moved to my neck. Every where he touched felt like a bruise. I screamed and gruffed as I tried to escape. No one could hear me since I could feel the music pounding against the wall I was up against. My fists hit his chest as hard as they could but he held both of my wrists above my head. He roughly covered my mouth with his other hand and started getting more aggressive. My legs were flailing, but he held them down as he closed the space between us.

Suddenly Mike was knocked out on the cold ground. I was shocked at what had just happened and my breathing was heavy. I looked up to find that snowboarder with a wild look in his eyes. His fists were tightened and red. He was also panting. "Are you okay?"

My cheeks were red from the cold, and wet from my tears. I looked down at Mike and immediately backed away. I could barely stand and my hands were shaking like mad. I kept looking around for something to make sense. My breathing didn't seem to be working as I was gasping for air.

"Are you hurt?" My attention snapped back to this guy. He kept his distance from me, but it felt as if he wanted to come closer. The cold air stabbed at my throat, but I took whatever I could get.

_Why am I still here? Who is this guy?_ I looked back at him and his green eyes looked more concerned than ever. It was strange; his eyes were so dark they almost looked black. His features looked darker as the lights flickered behind him.

The adrenaline was still pumping through my veins. I shifted a little and he leaned in forward. Reflexively, I jumped and bolted to the door. I heard him yelling for me to wait but I didn't look back. The music burst into my ears as I ran into the mass of people. I ran until I found the entrance and was back out in the cold. There was still a line of people who were now staring at my mascara stained face. I was so frazzled as I walked up and down the street. I finally found a taxi and hopped in. I let the folksy mountain music drown out my thoughts as I stared aimlessly into the pitch-black night. The snow did not sparkle.

I searched the darkness for something. The snowboarder? He lurked in my thoughts amidst everything that had happened. I replayed that night over and over. _When did he find me? How did he see me? Why did he save me?_


	6. Chapter 6

**Very sorry you guys for the incredibly long hold up. Don't worry, the chapter after this is on its way :) Keep reviewing you guys... it makes me want to write more! **

* * *

"Hey! Snap out of it."

"H-uh?" I look up to find Rosalie leaning over the table with a weird nervous/ worried expression on her face. I shook my head and sniffled. "What's up, Rose?"

Her back stiffened and then straightened up immediately. Her eyebrows crushed together and her mouth opened in astonishment. "What's up? What's up is that you've been counting your cheerios for hours! What's going on with you lately?"

I looked down at my full cereal bowl and cringed as I lifted a spoon of mushy, soaked goop. "Oh" was all I was able to say.

"What happened Bella? Are you sick? The past couple of days you've done nothing but lounge around the house and turn all the food cold… and gross." She motioned to my cereal.

I pushed the bowl away and got up. "Yeah, I'm just not feeling too well. There's a lot on my mind."

"Should I tell Alice you won't be able to make it to the ski class tomorrow?" Rosalie was really concerned; too concerned. I couldn't bring myself to tell anyone, especially her, what happened at the club. She would feel guilty of pushing me to go on that date, and the whole thing was so humiliating. It was too much. Everything that happened is so clear in my mind, yet such a blur. The snowboarder is all I could think about, whether I want to or not. I don't even know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Why? Why was it _him_?

"Um, no. No, I think I'll feel better by tomorrow. Thanks though. I think I'll take a nap, I'm kind of tired." I walked away, leaving her completely bewildered. I have to go that class; I need a distraction. I just need to have some fun, or whatever is close enough to that.

* * *

Alice and I trudged over to the ski lifts with all our gear. "Feeling better Bella? Rosalie told me you've been acting a bit strangely over the past days. Is everything alright? Is it because I've been with Jasper like the whole weekend? I can totally ditch him this week."

I couldn't help but smile. If there was anyone who could make me laugh, it was Alice. "No no no. It's nothing like that. I was just feeling, um, under the weather, but I think this will be good for me. I need some more of this fresh air. Plus, I think I'm getting better at this skiing thing." I smiled proudly.

Alice squinted at me suspiciously, but I'm sure she got the hint that I didn't want to talk about it. She snorted, "Suuure. Oh, hey Jacob."

We met Jacob with a pissed-off look on his face. Not what I was hoping for today. He started walking towards the lift muttering to himself, leaving us behind. Alice and I gave each other questioning looks when we heard profanities flowing out one after the other.

"Jacob! What's wrong?" "Jacob, wait!" We yelled after him since he was too good at the whole walking-on-snow thing.

We almost fell backwards as he swung around to face us. "I'm sorry you guys, I'm not mad at you. It's Mike who's been getting on my nerves. I swear that guy…" I became silent. Hearing his name was… weird. I don't know how I felt; just a screwed up cocktail of anger, bitterness, disgust, and who knows what. I realized that he didn't make me feel scared. Pretty violent thoughts came to mind. I wanted to kick him right where the sun don't shine. I would have done it that night, but then … but then _he _came. Damn. There has to be at least one hour where _he _doesn't scramble my thoughts. Well, not that they already weren't. Oh! Back to Jacob.

Alice was already fanning him frantically with her mittens. "Jacob honey, calm down. Tell me what's going on. What did he do?" I felt it would be better that I just stay quiet and let Alice do the interrogation.

"Argh, that guy! He's been talking smack about you all morning! He kept saying that you are insane; taking drugs and drinking till you pass out. Tell me that's not true Bella!" He stared me right in the eye. I thought my eyeballs would pop out of their sockets and my jaw would fall to the ground. _ASSHOLE!!_ Those violent thoughts all came bursting back into my brain. My cheeks became flooded by red. Jacob took in my expression, "Yeah, that's what I thought." He stalked off again with Alice on his tail. What a day this was going to be.

What was meant to be a fun ski lesson with my two friends ended up being a shrink's office where Jacob let out all his frustrations. Alice and I acted as the shrink. For what its worth, I thought we did pretty well. We spent more than half of the day sitting at the top of the slope letting him rant about his buried issues of his high school days. We let him go on about how he knew from the beginning that Mike was a bad guy and that he never should have let me go on a date with him. I kept my mouth tightly wound for that part. If Jacob finds out about what happened, who knows what he would do. I stayed silent for most of the time. I patted him on the back occasionally and nodded my head once or twice.

By the time we got back home, I was exhausted. I was too tired to even know what to think. I promised never to let myself go through that again. I guess people have their limits.

At the end of our lesson/ shrink session, Jacob had come up with a conclusion. He decided that Mike was mad that he couldn't 'get with me'. Like the whole of the morning, I kept quiet for that part too.

It was finally time to leave and by then I was not physically exhausted, but mentally. I swear his rant left a ringing in my ears. As we walked to the car park, I felt Jacob suddenly tense up. His jaw was locked and his eyes were squinting with loathe. I followed his line of vision, which was stupid of me to because I followed it right to Mike's ugly face. He seemed to notice us, so I quickly turned my head to the chalet, pretending I was admiring the scenery. Although, it wasn't looking very beautiful at the moment. My cheeks starting burning up, but the next thing I know Jacob put his arm over my shoulders and pulled me right up to his side. He beamed at me and then kissed me on my head. I jolted when he suddenly burst out laughing, "Ahahaha Bella! You're so amazing and funny! Hahaha!" I just stared up at him completely bewildered. "What the hell are you doing Jacob?"

I noticed we had lost Alice. I looked around to find her frozen in the snow. Her eyebrow was arched so high I thought it would never come back down to Earth. Jacob continued laughing and smiling and squeezing me. He whispered in my ear, "I'm making him jealous." I found myself mimicking Alice's expression.. "What? Aren't you gay?!"

He simply cocked his head and gave me a lopsided smile. "Yes Bella, but he doesn't know that."

I couldn't stop myself from laughing at his outrageousness. I waved for Alice and filled her in. We all ended up laughing our way to the car and making the day a whole lot better.

* * *

"Oh, yeah. Yeah that's perfect." As we entered, we heard giggly chatter coming from Rosalie when she passed us (without even taking any notice). "Sure. I'll see you then okay? 'kay, bye!" She was twirling her hair around her finger.

"uh, hey Rose. What's up? Who were you talking to?"

"Oh! Hey guys, how was skiing? Anyway, Alice, remember that guy I was telling you about? The one I met at the club?"

"Ooh, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah!" Alice was jumping up and down and clapping her hands.

I had no idea who they were talking about. Why didn't Rosalie tell me? "What guy?"

"Oh right sweetie, I didn't tell you. You seemed pretty bummed when I got back that night, so I decided to put it in your face or anything like that."

"Put what in my face?"

"Right. Weeellll, I met this guy…" We all squealed as we plopped ourselves onto the sofa. Jasper figured it was his cue to leave. Why get into all this girly stuff?

"Ooohh so what's his name? He's hot right?"

"His name is Emmett and yes, he is gorgeous!! Amazing body!"

Alice chirped in, "So what did he call about? Second date?"

"Not exactly. He was thinking more of a group hang kind of thing. This way you'll also be able to meet him! Not the most romantic thing, but he is so funny. You'll all love him I'm sure."

"Were you with him this morning too?" Rosalie bit her lip and blushed. "Kinda." We all burst into laughter and teased her about her new crush… or boyfriend? I had to ask, "Hey so what's going on with you guys then? Are you together exclusively? You know, boyfriend, girlfriend thing."

She hugged the pillow, "Oh… well I'm not really sure. I mean its only been two days! But I have a good feeling about him. I just feel so comfortable, so … right with him, you know?"

"Ooooooooooooooooohhh!" Alice and I giggled.

"Anyway! He's here with his brother…" She shot a look at me. Suddenly I became the center of the teasing. "Ooh Bella!" Alice poked me.

I could tell that Rosalie was feeling a little hesitant in saying that. She probably felt bad about the failed date with Mike. She cleared her throat, " Well its not like you have to go on a date with him or anything. It's a group hang."

"Sure, with you and Emmett and then Alice and Jasper I'm sure there's no pressure."

"Nooo. Bring Jacob along too. If he turns out to be sucky, then chill with Jacob. If he turns out great, then you could do your thing! See, there's no pressure at all. Its perfect." Her plan did make me feel better. Plus it would be fun to hang out with all of them somewhere.

"Hmmm…. Fine. I'm in."

"Yeah me too!" Alice added. "It's going to be so much fun."

"That's so great! Woo! Cool, so its tomorrow. I think we're just going to eat dinner, then hang out at his place. It's so nice!"

"Woah! Hold up!" Alice snatched the pillow Rosalie was squeezing. "So you've been there already?!" I burst out laughing as Rosalie just smiled in response.

We spent the rest of the night gushing over Rosalie's dream guy and making a lot of noise. After about and hour or so, Jasper came out into the living room half awake with his hair looking like a bird's nest.

We burst out laughing and teasing while he cringed at the noise. Alice skipped over to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Come on, let's sleep then. 'Night girls!" We continued laughing after them and into the night.

* * *

We came back to the chalet along with Jacob, from a successful day of actual skiing. I swear I was actually improving, but that might just be me.

Rosalie strutted into the scene with curlers still in her hair. She had a handful of jewelry dripping from her manicured hands. "You guys! Shower and get ready! Now!" Jacob slowly began backing out to the door. "Maybe I should go get ready at my place, then I'll come back here."

"No!" Rosalie had him by the wrist and was dragging him into the pit of doom. At least for the next three hours that is. "You might be late. You can use one of Jasper's things and then help Bella out with her clothes."

My cheeks went tomato. I have to say I was a bit insulted by her comment, but she was in a frenzy anyway that it was no use to try to defend myself. So we all went to our respective rooms as ordered, and Jacob was taken to Jasper's closet. We were weak. What could we do?

After my calm and relaxing shower, there was a knock at my door. I put on my bathrobe and opened the door. Noise just slashed the zen mode I had going on. Rosalie was yelling orders, Alice was running around with mounds of clothes; the clinking coming from coat hangers, the thuds coming from heels and jangling coming from necklaces. I hardly realized that Jacob was standing in the doorway with a nice black shirt and jeans.

"Okay girly. Rosalie sent me over here to get you ready."

"Humph, so much for a _casual_ group hang." And I walked over to the closet. "Fine, find me something to wear and I'll get my hair and make-up done. Nothing fancy. Go as casual as you can. I don't know, you're the expert." As I shut the bathroom door, I could hear the entire contents of my wardrobe land on my bed.

I decided to put my hair into a loose bun, and I just put on a bit of mascara. By the time I got out of the bathroom, which wasn't very long, I found sets of outfits presented along the bed. Jacob had just pushed the last pieces of unwanted clothes onto the floor. "Thanks."

"Oh, no problem. Okay, choose whichever you want." I rolled my eyes at his blindness to my sarcasm and got to work. I decided to go for my baggy-ish cream cable sweater and skinny jeans. **(a/n: go to my profile to see a pic of the outfit.)** "Fine. Take the simplest. Anyway, here, wear these." And he handed me my caramel leather heeled boots. "Ooh, nice touch."

While I was getting ready, Jacob and I chatted about his past relationships. "You know Bella, I think my relationships, if you can call them that, all start way too fast. Okay, next one I'm taking way slow. Like, only five dates until more kind of slow. Know what I mean?"

"Sure Jake." I really had no clue. "Okay, what do you think?" I stood up and gave him a twirl. "Fabulous! Now borrow one of Alice's cute clutches… hmm maybe black, and then you're good to go."

"Finally! Alice!" I walked out of the room to find her dolled up and calmly putting on her earrings in her room, whilst surrounded by bodies of clothes and shoes and bags. "Hey Alice, could I borrow one of your purses? Black I think."

"Hmmm, um…" She went to one corner of the massacre and began rummaging around. "Oh here it is! This'll go perfectly. By the way Jacob did a good job. You're gonna make this brother of his drool! Haha!"

I smacked her arm. "First thanks for the purse, and second, I resent your guys' lack of faith in me. I mean, I could have put this all together! I did buy these clothes."

"Honey, I got you that shirt last Christmas."


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, you know what? As much as I try, it is practically impossible for me to write a new chapter every week. So I'm sorry that I update like every month… has it been more? Anyway, yes I apologize, but it is one of my flaws. So don't expect so much from me. **

**But don't give up on me just yet! (Btw this is a longer chappie!)**

**Read and Review… Hope you enjoy this one!**

* * *

"You guys ready to go? Good." Rosalie headed out the door with the rest of us at her heel. She was dressed in a sleek black outfit: scoop neck long sleeves and skinnies. She put on her lush fur coat and lead the way. I personally thought she was a bit too over-dressed, but according to everyone, what do I know?

Alice stopped half way out the door, "huh." She peeked back into the house, "Where's Jasper?"

It just clicked in everyone's head that Jasper was missing. I didn't see him at all during Rosalie's fiasco. Alice picked up the pace and overtook Rose to the garage, while flicking out her phone and punching numbers. "Ugh, oh my god." She snapped her phone shut and swung the front door of the car open. "I can't believe you..." "Ah ow! Hey! Stop!"

As we peered into the garage we could hear flickering swats. We could see Alice smacking a groggy Jasper who appeared to have just woken up. "Traitor!" The swatting continued.

Rosalie rolled her eyes and marched forward. She squeezed the two lovebirds out of the way and revved up the engine. It was clear she wasn't going to wait for any of us. Alice huffed her way to the passenger's seat and Jasper was stuck at the back.

"Uh, I'll ride with Jacob. We'll follow you guys." I quickly grabbed Jacob's arm and dragged the rest of him out of the garage without waiting for an answer. I did not want to end up in the middle of that. These people love their drama.

As we settled into his car, Jacob was vibrating with laughter. "Geez, why are we missing all the fun? Haha!" _*Beeeeeeeeeeepppp* _Rosalie was already on the road. "'kay, lets get moving before she leaves us in the dust... or snow. Eh its more like fluff, right? No! Powder. There you go, powdered snow. You know what I hate the most? Mushy snow." I rolled my eyes at the conversation he seemed to be having with himself as we hit the road.

It was pretty unnerving following Rosalie. She drove as fast as one could in the mountains. Jacob and I got left behind too many times to count. But eventually we made it to the town safe, and alive.

As we met up with the rest of our group it seemed that Alice and Jasper had made up. He had his arm around her as they walked towards the restaurant.

Small shops and restaurants lined the center of the town. So many little bulbs were strung all over the place. The decorations lit up the streets and made me feel… jolly; like I was standing outside of Santa's workshop. It was a giddy feeling.

Before anymore of my childhood dreams could come to life, I was hustled into the restaurant. "Move your butt, Bella! Mine's about to fall off." Next thing you know, we ended up in a fancy room. Golden framed mirrors and lit candles embellished the dark, purple walls. Who knew where that came from? Thick velvet curtains blocked the dining area from the entrance. Rosalie was speaking to the hostess as other waitresses took off our coats. As we were lead into the restaurant, all of my childhood fantasies slipped away. I was in adult land now. Parts of the walls had stones petruding and the rest was painted in a dull crimson. Giant vintage frames of great tasting wines looked like billboards behind the bobbing heads. It was quite a breather compared to the somewhat gothic entrance. The lights were dimmed, and beautifully set tables were occupied by beautiful people; some on dates, some on double dates. So much for this not being a set up.

I felt out of place, but not as much as usual thanks to Jacob who worked wonders on me. Oh yeah! There was Jacob who people would think is _my _date and that guy's brother would be the single one! Mwahaha!

I couldn't help but smile at my new plan as we wound around the tables. We finally reached this cozy little alcove; very romantic. We all felt pretty awkward as Rose and her guy, Emmett I think his name was, met. There was a long, lingering kiss on the cheek, whispering, giggling. Yep… pretty awkward.

Once they came out of their zone thing, we were all introduced. I finally got to see what he was all about. And he certainly was. This Emmett guy was buff, clean shaved, nice hair, nice shirt. Rosalie knew how to pick her men. I could almost feel the jealousy emerging from neighboring women. As he introduced himself, I also checked off nice voice. It was deep, but it sounded like there was a smile behind every word he said. There was humor in the way that he grinned.

A little after my mental conversation, I felt as if I was under someone's gaze. The feeling was so intense I thought I was paranoid. I turned my head to the other side of the table. My eyes were met with that emerald gaze that has been seared into my memory. No, they were captured by his. _I _was captured under his gaze. I stopped breathing.

There he was. The guy who had been lingering in my head ever since the first time our eyes met in the snow; when I crashed and landed… on top of him. Oh God. _That_ was how we first met?! I could feel my cheeks flare with my internal embarrassment. Distracted with by my thoughts, I was able to escape his searing eyes. As I turned to the floor, I could almost feel my eyes scorching like embers from the aftermath. I shook my head and glanced up at Jacob who was being introduced to Emmett. I couldn't help but snicker at the absolute marvel in his eyes. Ah, eyes. The one and only open window into our mind.

My attention was snapped back up with the sound of Emmett's booming voice. "This is my brother," he scooched to give way, "Edward." _Edward. _Such a beautiful name. I stared shamelessly as he greeted everyone else. I heard his voice for the first time without the myriad of noises from crashing skis, Alice's yelling, the screaming in my head, and the scuffles from that night. His voice was smooth and heavy (in a good way) like honey. Words flowed from his mouth like silk. No, more like velvet. He made everyone else's voice, including mine, sound like corduroy.

But what the hell was he doing here! Every syllable he uttered sparked more questions. Okay he's Emmett's brother. Am I crazy? This is too good to be true. The same guy who saved me one and a half times, I call the skiing incident a partial save since he only acted as my brake, was standing a meter away from me. "Oh!" I exclaimed. I hadn't realized he had already gone through everyone else. He was looking at me with a curious grin, although it was laced with caution and concern.

The only thing I could give was a meek smile. I held out my hand, "It's nice to meet you, Edward." He stepped forward and took my hand gently. It was rough like any man's, but I wish we could have held it longer. He let mine go and it fell limply to my side.

"It's pleasure to meet you, too. I'm sorry I didn't catch your name."

I searched for air. "Oh. Hah it's ah Isabella. Uh no, actually just Bella."

He breathed out a chuckle. I almost fainted. As I glanced up at him, I thought I caught a glimpse of him mouthing my name silently to himself. "Heh okay, just Bella. I'm glad to finally know your name." The corner of his mouth turned up into a crooked smile; one so endearing; so goofy; so sexy. But almost immediately, as if something had struck him in his mind, his playfulness pulled down into a look of hesitance and he turned away to let everyone get seated. Maybe it was the lame joke he made about my name? He was clearly embarrassed about it because I could see his cheeks tinting ever so slightly pink. But something else had struck me too. He knows who I am. He remembered me. He remembered me when we crashed. He remembered me… at the club. I grew somber at the memory. That was a night I would rather forget, but it is difficult to since Edward was there. I pushed the memory to the back of head and started refocusing on the now.

I smiled to no one in particular and surveyed the table. It was Emmett at the head of the table. On one row it was Rosalie, Alice and Edward, and then on the other row was Jasper, Jacob and me in between. The waitress came by and stood a bit too close to Edward. A flash of annoyance appeared in my mind. _Gosh, she doesn't have to flaunt her boobs in his face. So desperate. _I could have continued, but then I caught myself out. Here was this very sexy man and what would he see in me? The most ordinary girl there is. Of course he probably has some hot model of a girlfriend back at home. _Ugh, he could never be interested in you. _I told myself.

In the meantime, Emmett was booming on about some guy on one ski and the waitress was babbling on about their wine…_probably her jugs of wine._ I was now even more annoyed, angry and jealous of her because she was the one talking to Edward, not me. So I resorted to Plan B. I cleared my throat and straightened up. I looked around for something or someone to initiate my plan. But I was interrupted by a menu being handed to me. I followed the hand to find it belonged to Edward. He was smiling a brilliant smile. Did I just miss a joke? That threw me off my course for a moment. I timidly took the menu and smiled in thank you. I refused to look at his eyes otherwise my plan would just flutter away with my heart.

_He has a girlfriend. He would never be interested in you. _I chanted this to myself over and over again… in my head of course._ He's probably laughing at you_. Now that just got me angry. _Okay. Plan time. If Jacob could do it with me, then I could do the same with him._

I swung around to Jacob gave him the brightest smile I could muster, although it was kind of difficult to with clenched teeth. He just finished saying something to Alice when I snaked my arm around his and gave it a squeeze. He and Alice were both staring at me completely confused. I leaned into his ear and whispered something to him about the waiter on the other side of the room. "What do you think? Cute right?" I was still whispering this into his ear. He pulled away and scanned the room for the waiter. He turned to me and beamed. He leaned in close, "OHmygosh yeah! Soo cute! Like a little French macaron!" **(a/n: If you don't know what it is, google it. Seriously, it will be a lot funnier.) **We both laughed. "So what do you think? For you or for me? Haha." I arched my neck and studied the subject further. I chewed on my lip for minute. At the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Edward staring at me. I couldn't look at him. I had to focus. My cheeks began to feel very warm. "Hmmm, I think he's definitely a macaron indeed." We burst into more laughter. I always loved Jacob's analogies.

We turned back to the rest of the group who were still engrossed in Emmett's story, all except Alice and Edward who were discreetly trying to figure out that little show. Obviously, from other people's points of views, they would think that Jacob and I are a couple. My goal wasn't to make anyone jealous, just to not be the one left out. But as I glanced towards Edward, he looked almost sad or disappointed. He fidgeted away from my gaze and looked down at his plate. Immediately I felt guilty. But for what? I didn't do anything. He has no right to make me feel even worse than he already has. Okay maybe I was a little bad, but why would he care anyway. His line of girlfriends back home is waiting for him.

I huffed and focused my attention at the deliciousness that was this plate in front of me. The food was incredible, but I wasn't expecting any less considering it was Rosalie's choice. Every now and then, Alice would quirk her eyebrow at me wondering what was that all about. I brushed her curious gaze off and decided I had to be a bit social. The conversation flowed easily, as did the wine.

Every time Emmett's booming laughter exceeded the volume of ours, we would get annoyed glances from neighboring tables. We all just responded in even more laughter. Now and then I would catch Edward's gaze lingering on me, but I swung my head the other way every time. I couldn't bear to look at him.

He would look at me with a crooked grin that made me want to jump into his arms and melt right there. There would be a curious glint in his eyes as he smiled at me. But when I would turn away, his eyebrows would furrow into confusion.

A couple of hours had passed and were now pushing the plates of desert aside. I'm pretty sure we all looked like lethargic globs as we sunk into our chairs. Well, excluding Rosalie; she propped up on her seat smirking at Emmett while she nibbled on her spoon. I looked around and everyone seemed to have satisfied, sleepy smiles plastered on their faces, mine included.

"That was…woah." Jasper tried to make out a compliment on the food, but I think that was a complimentary enough. Alice rolled her head to his direction, obviously too full to exert any more effort, and patted his hand with a lopsided grin that said _Yeah, me too._

Jacob and I giggled at their exchange. Jacob groaned and looked up at the ceiling. "Oh my god, I'm going to be so faaat." The table laughed in agreement and Edward arched one sexy eyebrow. Oops, so much for Jacob being my boyfriend. But I was too happy from the insanely delicious chocolate cake to try and fix it. I simply grinned and patted Jacob's stomach.

Everyone burst into a lazy round of laughter as Jacob feigned shock.

After the laughter subsided, Alice stretched out her arms across the table in contentment. "You guys ready to go clubbing?"

I moaned, "Whaat?"

She rolled her eyes at me and completely dismissed my question with the flit of her hand.

"Come on people! Let's go partay!" She was now completely back into her giddy, hyper mode.

Emmett turned to Rose, "You up for it babe?"

She parted her lips slightly and looked at him with hooded eyes. "Absolutely." His breath hitched and he seemed to be having trouble swallowing.

I smiled to myself as this all played out. It was very interesting watching Rosalie use her feminine wiles to have men wrapped around her little pinky. That was something I could never get in touch with. I tried.

I wasn't the only one who found this amusing. Edward captured my gaze as he tried suppressing his laughter behind a napkin. He ended covering his face as he laughed into the napkin. I couldn't help but smile even wider.

He looked up at me with teary eyes as his laughter began to die down. My face brightened as he caught me looking at him. This time I didn't look away. I stared into those beautiful green eyes and I bit on my lip to stop myself from smiling even more.

"Okay! Let's get going!" Our gaze was broken by Alice's announcement. Alice pushed out her chair and stood up indicating that we should follow. She was jumping up and down with giddiness and Jasper smoothly got up and made his way to her side. He snaked his arms around her waist and looked at her lovingly.

It was sick. I was sick with envy. I looked down at my folded arms and laughed at my petty jealousy. I sighed and followed suite.

We all stretched out a bit as we headed to the door. We collected our coats and were sent off with Au Revoir's and Bon Soirée's from the hostess.

We were a pretty big group and once we all made it outside, we were greeted with the icy air. I snuggled into my coat, trying to get away from the coldness. Emmett stretched out his neck to see if we weren't missing anyone. "Okay guys I know this place close by. Edward, you know which one it is, right?" I glanced at Edward who nodded his head. His floppy hair nodded too. I felt my hand twist a strand of my own hair as I longed to twist strands of his.

Emmett continued, "It's like a lounge/club; if you wanna dance, then you can and if you wanna digest, you can do that too. Sound good?"

We all bobbed our heads in agreement, too cold to open our mouths. He smiled and led the way, draping his arm easily over Rose's shoulder. Jacob linked our arms as we followed after them. We squeezed each other to try and get as much heat as possible.

I could hear Edward, Jasper and Alice chatting behind us. I could almost feel Edwards's eyes burning two little holes on my back, which did warm me up just a little bit.

I braved the cold as we followed Emmett. Ten minutes had passed and I wasn't sure if my toes were still intact. We finally rounded the corner and blue lights were dimly lit at the edge the roof. Two black doors separated us from the warmth, so we pushed on forward.

Emmett held out the door and as we huddled to get inside, I felt Edwards's warm, luxurious breath on the back of my neck. My heart skipped a beat. I wanted to slink into his arms and have him hold me forever.

I quickly stiffened once I realized my eyes had fluttered closed. What was once cold was now suddenly burning at my internal embarrassment. I bit my lip and grabbed onto Jacob. Thank god he was there otherwise I'd look like the pathetic noob I was.

As I lifted my head, I looked around and everything was draped in black silk. I looked down as walked down the stairs and beneath the glass were clusters of diamonds and jewels. I breathed out a wow. I was thinking I wasn't dressed up enough for this. As we put away our coats, we moved passed the glass doors and were immediately enveloped in the definition of luxury. Super models were dancing straight ahead of us and had everyone's gaze on them, including mine.

Before I could continue forward, I felt someone's hand on the small of my back. I whipped my head around to connect with the beautiful, green eyes. The colorful lights danced in and around them creating a kaleidoscope of beauty. I was mesmerized.

I had to zoom out to see he seemed to have an apologetic look. His hand was still on my back, which was imprinting a permanent burn. He hesitantly put a little pressure and motioned with his eyes to right. I followed the direction to another set of stairs, this time leading upstairs.

I blushed furiously as I realized he was leading me in the proper direction. I laughed nervously and bit my lip. Something like shock flashed across his face and he smiled. He smiled his crooked smile.

I had to clutch onto Jacob's shirt as I swayed a little. Edward's hand fell and I felt as if a piece of me was torn off. I was dragged up with Jacob as he moved up the stairs. I had to concentrate as I almost stumbled a couple of times.

Once we reached the top, it was significantly quieter and chandeliers were strung all over the loft. I assumed this to be the lounge as I saw the white couches covering the plush floor. Everyone looked around in amazement; everyone except Rosalie who gave a smirk and swung around taking Emmett back downstairs with her. Rosalie fit like a glove in this place.

The rest of us made our way to the bar to order up the drinks. Alice squealed and bounced across the room yelling out her drink to me. I looked around to find that she had found a seat for all of us. Jasper distractedly told me his drink and gave me some money. He followed Alice like a zombie as he stared as she swung her legs around.

I took a seat as I told the bartender my order. Edward took a seat next to me and he was staring at his crossed arms intently. He finally locked his gaze on mine and swallowed.

He cleared his throat, "Um, so what brings you to the mountains?"

"Alice, actually. She forced me to go on this trip." I smiled as he chuckled. "And how about you?"

He grinned, "Emmett. When we were younger, we used to come here every year. When we both got jobs, we lost the routine. So he decided it was time to resume brother bonding time."

We both laughed this time. I decided that it was useless for me to keep up my non-interested façade. Remembering my plotting, I shifted my eyes to try and look for Jacob. I didn't have to look too far; right behind Edward was Jacob who was eying his new prey. I followed his gaze to a very cute guy with gelled back hair and a tight silk shirt. I giggled at his obviousness.

Edward quirked an eyebrow, but I brushed it off as our drinks arrived in front of us. I was just about to get up to deliver Alice and Jasper theirs when Edward leaned over and told the bartender to get their drinks taken to them. I smiled. _That was smooth._

He looked back at me; he smiled like he was embarrassed. Well, it's not like I minded spending more time with him. I sat more comfortably and turned to him to tell him that he had my full attention. Anything else if he wanted.

I grinned at my lovesick idiocy. "Do you have anymore siblings?" I asked.

He moved to get comfortable too. "No, its just Emmett and I. Actually, we were both adopted." He shook his floppy head of hair and laughed. "I'm so grateful to my parents; Emmett and I were crazy kids."

Was it me or did this conversation just cross the line of stranger-to-stranger chit chat? I decided to not comment on the adoption tid bit. "Wow, I can't imagine you being a crazy kid! If anything, the polar opposite. You know, violin recitals and cups of tea?"

"Hah, well my parents didn't stop trying that's for sure. Thanks to their persistence I do know how to play the piano."

"Ah that's more like it. Hahaha!"

He laughed and clinked our glasses together in agreement. After taking a drink, which was absolutely delicious by the way, I assumed it was his turn to ask the next question.

"So, tell me, what were you like in high school?"

I barked a laugh a bit too loud. Then blushed. Luckily he chuckled to keep my laughing company.

"Haha oh in high school, well actually I was just your average girl next door. Um, minus the sports and coordination and social skills. But you know what, I'm pretty much the same person even now. No changes other than physical." I laughed nervously. Obviously I wasn't a very interesting specimen.

We were both laughing and he mumbled something like "I love that.", but drowned the rest of the sentence in his drink. One of the few tiny sparks inside me flew.

I sniffled and looked at him in feigned sadness, "I also come from a broken home."

The corners of his lips pulled up into a wider smile of amusement. I seemed to mirror his actions. "Haha no I'm just kidding. Oh wait, no that came out wrong. I mean my parents _are_ divorced, but it's all good. They split when I was a kid and my step dad is great to my mom. So if they're all happy, then so am I."

"Haha okay well then that's good." He opened his mouth to say something else, but then pursed his lips and stared me straight in the eye. He seemed to look quite serious.

"Well, what about you? I mean regardless of how they felt, how did _you_ feel?"

_That's new. _I was caught completely off guard. No one has ever asked me a question like that. What should I say? I didn't even know the answer to that.

My eyes shifted all over the room, not wanting to land on his intense gaze. My mouth hung open trying to come up with an answer to that. Or just words; any words would have been helpful.

"Um, ah well I uh…"

"Oh! I'm sorry. Don't answer that. It wasn't my place." His look changed immediately to sincere apology.

"No, no. It's fine, it's just uh I um –" "BELLAAAAAWELLAA!"

I swung around to find Alice waving frantically and grinning like a madwoman. She yelled across the room, "I need the Bell Bell police! Jasper's trying to feel me up!! HAHAHAHA" She turned around and slumped back into Jasper's arms. For some reason he wasn't even a teeny bit fazed by her outburst. He took her back lovingly and poked more fun at her.

Next to me, I could feel Edward vibrating with laughter. I was scared he was going to fall off his seat. His current position seemed quite unstable.

His laughter was infectious, even though it was at the expense of my friend. Whatever, it's not like she cared very much for morals when it was at my expense.

As I hopped off my seat, it turned out that I was the one who was unstable. I couldn't seem to land a jump of 10cm gracefully. Of course Edward was there to steady me. He easily slipped his hands around my arms until I regained my balance. My breathing hitched.

Usually, when I find myself in this sort of predicament, I feel very uncomfortable. The helpful hands seem to only want one thing. My ass.

But I didn't feel any discomfort; only absolute trust and contentment. But that all went away once I stopped wobbling. I sighed internally. I guess he really wasn't like other guys. And he also didn't seem to share their same enthusiasm, which put a damper on my mood.

He swiftly joined me with both of our drinks in hand. He gave me a meek smile and handed me my drink. I take it he isn't interested at all then.

As we made our way to the two love birds, we were both silent. We were both, or at least I was, thinking over what just happened. Yeah, it wasn't much and is probably normal for everyone else, but this time there was something else. Some added mystery ingredient that you only uncover once you have tasted it. Unfortunately my immediate future said otherwise.

"Hey, so how long have you and Jacob been together?"

"Wha-what?" _What on earth? …Ohhhh._ "Hahahhahahhaa, yeah, no."

My grin was uncontrollable. I probably looked like a complete goofy retard, but, well, that was how I was feeling at the moment.

"What did I say?" I laughed even harder when I saw genuine confusion in his eyes. He had a half-smile, but it was his eyes that just said it all. It was complete torcher to leave Edward in the shadows.

I let my laughter die out and I shook my head to get it all off. Sighing, I gave him the sweetest apologetic smile I could muster. I looked into his beautiful green eyes and moved closer. I led his eyes with mine and nodded my head to a point behind him. He followed my direction easily.

"Oh."

_Priceless. _His cheeks blazed red, maybe I'm exaggerating but that's how I saw it, and it looked like he had dislocated his jaw. I bent over in painful laughter, clutching the edge of a sofa to ease the spasms.

Edward had to drag his confused, surprised, embarrassed eyes away from the scene before him: Jacob chatting up the silk-shirted man. They were sitting at the bar practically on each other's lap and there was a lot of whispering and caressing of arms going on. It was quite a sight to see.

He cleared his throat, "Um right. Okay, I uh didn't know that he was um … yeah."

"Aahh ohh hahaha that was funny." I wiped a few stray tears and made my way to Alice and Jasper who staring at me curiously.

Edward followed with his eyebrows furrowed together and his cheeks recovering from the sudden color change, slowly registering everything.

The night continued heavenly. After a while, Alice was tipsy enough to go join Rosalie and Emmett down at the club. Of course Jasper was carried along with her since he was the one holding her from bouncing off the walls.

I decided not to go; I didn't want Edward to see me dancing, well anyway the closest I could get to that. To my surprise he also declined the invite claiming he was still digesting. I smiled inwardly, thanking the Gods for slow metabolism.

Our conversation continued easily, but we were definitely not in the stranger to stranger conversation zone. I practically spilled my entire high school experience to him and not once did his smile fade. I ended up babbling because it was difficult trying to stay concentrated on the topic when sex on sticks was sitting right in front of you.

But he was so much more than that. I showed him mine, so he showed me his. He told me about his childhood and how he dealt with the adoption.

"Yeah, I was pretty much a text book case. You know, acting out, being rebellious, that sort of thing."

My eyes were wide with amazement, urging him to go on "Uh huh."

He chuckled, "I went through all of the phases of teenhood. Haha, I went through a skater stage, a rocker stage, a hippie stage… oh and believe it or not, I was a goth for about a month."

My jaw fell slack, "No way."

He pursed his lips and nodded. "Yup, I even have a tattoo to prove it."

"Oh my God! What is it? A black cat?"

He rolled up his sleeve where there was a tattoo on the upside of his elbow. "Hahaha if only. No it's one of those stars in a circle. I was stupid; I didn't even know what it meant, only that it was going piss the hell out my parents."

I closed the space between us to see it better. "Wow, I'll bet it did."

"Yeah… hahaha. But it was only till the end of my junior year where I was able to get rid of all of the clichés. I dunno, I finally understood that I was actually happy and that I was in the best possible place. So there was really no need for anymore rebelliousness."

"Why didn't you get it lasered off?"

"Nah. I don't really regret it. It reminds me of what I was going through, how ridiculous it was, and it's just a fun memory. A bunch of people think I'm crazy for keeping it, but you know, it's the first real life decision I made. Even though it was the wrong one, it's still special."

His lips pulled into his crooked smile.

"That's so… awesome. Haha I wish I had some crazy teenage memorabilia."

He raised an eyebrow and finished his drink. "Hmm I'm sure."


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello everyone… it's been a while. Well, I'm really sorry about this. I actually half abandoned this story, but then suddenly I had the itch to continue. Also, my bag was stolen a while back and in it was my memory stick with all my notes and stuff on this story, and I didn't have a back-up. So that kinda contributed to my discontinuation. Nevertheless, here it is about six to eight months delayed. Probably more, but nevermind!**

**Enjoy dears.**

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Later Edward and I continued talking about high school, college, mutual acquaintances… There was also a steady stream of drinks coming our way, which probably had something to do with our chattiness. We settled ourselves comfortably into our little sofa corner that we temporarily owned for the night. The two couples eventually came back to join us in our drunken delight.

Emmett was now securely wrapped around Rosalie's pinky, that's for sure. I don't know what happened on that dance floor, but knowing Rosalie, I am sure it had to be her work. There were all the telltale signs of a whipped man. Emmett was practically drinking up the sight of her, memorizing every curve and angle. Of course, like any man, he could have also just been horn-dog. No, but this was different. He also tended to her every need, and kept her laughing. These two beauties are perfect for each other.

"Okay people, group vote! Where do we hit next?" Emmett spread his arms out to gather everyone's attention. I tried angling myself to see the time on Edward's watch… couldn't quite make it out. He realized what I was trying to do, so helped out by bringing his watch right up to my eyeballs. Squinting, it was around 3 am.

"What time?" Edward yelled to me, while also sitting right next to me.

"Three-ish!"

His face scrunched up in perplexity, and he brought his watch right up to his eyeballs. That boy has a strange way of reading time. "Whaaat? Already?"

"Yooo! You guys! Ours or yours?" Emmett's voice boomed over the rest.

"Ours or yours what?" I asked. Clearly I missed the whole discussion.

"Place. Do we continue this party at our place or yours?"

"Ours! The majority of us are staying there so…" and Alice did the usual and stuck her tongue out.

"I agree. We all vote Rose and Jasper's place!" I chipped in.

Emmett smacked his large hands together, "Great! Let's go! Babe, you ready?" Rose smiled sweetly at him nodded her head before gracefully put her coat on. Did she drink at all?

While the rest of struggled to put our gear on, the boys went to take care of the bill. Well, more like Emmett and Jasper since Edward seemed to keep putting his jacket on backwards. Such a cutie.

"Okay you don't seem to be getting anywhere. Let me." Defeated, Edward came toward me and held his arms out like a child. If I didn't stop myself, I would have gone in for a hug. I helped him get in one sleeve, but that took us a couple of minutes to achieve what with all the laughing, not to mention the alcohol content in our blood.

Finally we got the second sleeve in, and the jacket zipped only half way. Everyone was assembled around the stairs, so we sloppily semi-jogged up to them and found them in the middle of saying their goodbyes to Jacob and his new friend.

Jacob came screeching over to me and laid on a huge hug. "Bellaa!! Ooh I had so much fun getting you ready today! So much fun tonight as well, even though we didn't really hang out so much." Then he gave me a wink, but I couldn't put together why. I stared blankly back with my goofy smile still plastered on. "Gosh you're drunk. Okay, I will give you the tell-all next class and for now, be safe!" He ended with another wink, and then flitted back to the bar with his new boy toy in tow. I was so confused.

Our little group started to shuffle down the stairs and I was dragged with the crowd. Edward still had the presence of mind to grab onto the railing for support, but I also felt his other hand holding onto the bottom of my coat. Despite my state, this subtle linkage still made me feel like hot chocolate with mini-marshmallows on a snowy day. I reached for the railing as well because I began to swoon.

Down the stairs then up the stairs and out.

We made it back out into the cold winter's night, although it was numbed due to our earlier activities.

Emmett strolled out with Rosalie on his arm. "Okay, so who's good to drive?"

He looked around and pointed to each of us. When his judging finger came to Edward and I, he winced. "Nah, you guys are completely gone."

Jasper came forward all smooth like he is, except a flailing Alice by his side didn't exactly compliment that look. "Hey, I can drive … these ones back to the place. Rose, why don't you ride with Emmett and give him the directions?" He then brought Alice into sweet kiss. She returned the cute gesture by giving him a big smile and trying to bite his nose. Don't worry, she only grazed it. She tends to get a little frisky when she's drunk. They both laughed, and Jasper swooped her in for another kiss.

So the plans were made, and we headed into the direction of the parking lot. As I tried moving forward, I realized that something was holding me back. I turned around to find Edward following us at sloth pace and still holding on to the back of my coat, not that I minded. Really.

"Gah, Edward! I can't mooove! They're leaving us!" I tried dragging us forward but I ended up on an icy treadmill instead.

Suddenly a pair of arms wrap around my stomach. Tightly. Snuggly. _Oh God. _My insides were doing back flips.

But then his head popped up under my right arm. "Okay Bella Isabella Bopinellamnhmmm…" He continued mumbling nonsense as he pushed the two of forward, awkwardly. He was still holding onto me with his arms and head at stomach level. I just enjoyed the ride and let my arm rest on top of his head. I went on giggling uncontrollably until we caught up with the rest of the group who were staring at us amused.

"Alright Eddie, you're getting in the car with us." And with that, Emmett unwrapped Edward's arms from me and heaved him to the back of the car. I still had the imprints of his arms set into my pouffy winter coat. Edward looked back at me and pulled the corners of his mouth down to droopy frown.

"You'll make it! Don't worry." I yelled to him, and turned around to get into the car with Jasper and Alice. Alice dove into the backseat with me, and I have to admit, I was a little afraid of what might happen to me back there.

As we drove off into the night, Alice and I made sure it wasn't a quiet one. We went from singing the classics. We screamed, "I'm a bitch, I'm a tease! I'm Goddess on my knees! When you hurt, when you suffer, I'm your angel undercover!" Alice kept poking her skinny finger on Jasper's head, making sure he knew she was singing to him. I'm surprised he didn't swerve off the road.

After catching our breath, we moved onto American Pie… ahem, the _real_ version a la Don McClean. "And, the three men I admire the most: the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost! They caught the last train for the coast! The day. The muu-sic. Diieeeddd! And they were singing," deep breath, "BYE BYE MISS AMERICAN PIE!"

A door slamming interrupted our amazing duet. Oh, we were home already? We looked around the car for Jasper; nowhere to be seen. We then looked at each other and burst into laughter. "Aw I think Jazz's ears started to bleed again – BAHAHAHAHHAA!"

We scooted out of the car and shuffled quickly into the house. We were instantly engulfed into the comfortable warmth that was this place. The fire was blazing and the music was blaring. Emmett, Rosalie and Edward made it before us, and settled in by bringing out food and more drinks. "There you guys are! Let's continue this party, and _everyone_ is drinking this time!" Emmett announced to us when we came up to them. He and Jasper were settled on each of couches around the fireplace. I plopped onto the couch next to them. _Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm._

I looked over to see a flushed-looking Edward holding onto the counter while slowly sipping a glass of water. Emmett noticed where I was looking and explained, "Oh, Eddie passed out on the car ride over here. Uh, and then had to empty the contents of his stomach a little when we got here. Haha! He had one too many fruity cocktails."

Rose then sauntered over to us holding a tray of cut lemon and lime, salt, six shot glasses and a bottle of tequila. "Alright everybody, the game: Never Have I Ever. The poison: tequila! You know, this way we'll get to know each other a lot better." She threw a smirk towards Emmett, who this time returned it with one too, as well as a waggle of his eyebrows.

She set the tray on the coffee table and sat on the floor. The rest of us followed her example and sat on the floor around the table. Alice skipped over to Jasper and sat on his lap. "Yo, Ed! Get your ass over here!" Emmett called. Edward sighed a dragged himself to the group and sat on the open space opposite me, between Rosalie and Jasper. He looked over to me and gave me weak smile. His bronze hair was disheveled, his cheeks were now tinted a faint pink and the top few buttons of his shirt lay casually open. Man, he is too pretty for his own good.

Rosalie began, "Okay let's do a little warm-up. Never have I ever… smoked weed." She scanned the room. Edward reached for a shot. Then Jasper. Then Emmett. _Fine! _Then me.

Gasps echoed around the room, along with laughter. The usual response. "Bella! I never knew you were a pothead!" Alice put her hand in front of her mouth, feigning shock.

"Hey, I'm not a pothead. I have experimented in college you know. Everyone has, I mean except for you two I guess." I defended. I spied Edward looking at me amused. He lifted his shot glass to me before we licked the salt, downed the poison, and then bit the lemon. Our faces winced and scrunched from the sourness. _Egh, tequila…_

As the game continued through the night, we discovered some interesting things about each other. We learnt that Jasper, Alice and Emmett were part of the mile high club. We learnt that all of the ladies and Emmett have purchased kinky pleasure toys. Emmett claims they were presents for a friend. We learnt that everyone has skinny dipped. We learnt that Rosalie, Jasper and Emmett have eaten dog food. We learnt that everyone except me have had phone sex. We learnt that Edward, Rosalie, Alice and Emmett have tattoos, and that Rosalie's is somewhere inappropriate because she blushed furiously and refused to show us. Jasper gagged and Emmett winked.

After a few rounds and a second bottle, it was safe to say that we were all sufficiently fucked. It was now Edward's turn and we were all toppling over each other. "Ha! Okay, okay. I got one." He cleared his throat and darted his eyes straight at Emmett. Emmett looked genuinely afraid of what Edward would say. Edward then gave a lopsided smile. "Never have I ever kissed a boy."

"Aw, you're jusht trying to get all of ush girlsh drunk." I said and reached over for my glass. Rosalie drank, Alice drank, I drank. By now we had forgotten about the lemon and salt, and were taking the shots straight. Then, a thick hand begins to slowly reach for a shot glass. Everyone follows its journey from the table to Emmett's mouth. He swigs it, smacks his lips and grunted to save some of his masculinity and dignity. The room erupted in laughter and all of us were sprawled on the floor in painful hilarity.

Once we all calmed down, we slowly picked ourselves up and wiped away stray tears. In an unusual quiet voice, Emmett explains, "I was drunk. The club was dark and my vision was blurry. The dude looked like a chick! I swear I didn't know! It can be so confusing nowadays, what with all the surgeries and make-up!" Everyone resumed their previous stance on the floor. "Anyway, I found out it was a guy 'cus he hadn't had… every surgery." He ended that in a whisper, but we all got it. I was laughing so hard I wasn't sure if I needed to call an ambulance. We were paralyzed in a state of infinite amusement, I didn't know if we could make it out of there.

"Ah whatever." Emmett threw the throw pillow he was clutching while he was confessing his dark secret at Edward. He then became extremely fascinated with a bag of chips he started munching on.

Rosalie pulled herself up to him and rubbed his arm. "I want to let you know that I am very proud of you for sharing your experience. You're very strong." And burst into another fit of laughter, but this time she was able to keep herself upright.

Everyone else was still on the floor. I turned my head to see Edward's face looking back at me through the legs of the coffee table. Despite our drunkenness, his forest green eyes pierced through the fog of inebriation and had me almost gasping for air. My head was spinning and my thoughts were running, and this had nothing to do with the tequila. He gave me a sideways grin and I turned my body to face him. My hair fell across my face, which created a stringy veil over my eyes. It looked like his jaw went slack. When I brushed it away and smiled at him, he swallowed hard.

Our moment disintegrated when Alice jumped on me. I looked back and he was already getting up. "What do you want you?" She bounced and my insides heaved. "Ugh stop that. You're gonna make me puke." I was able to get her off and sit up, immediately getting a head rush.

"Bella! The Sun is going to rise soon. You guys, come let's watch!" She bounced off into Jasper's waiting arms.

I got up and grabbed a bag of chips on the way to the full-length windows. The six of us sat in front of the windows, waiting for the light to come. Edward sat next to me with an afghan wrapped around him. He leaned his head on my shoulders and took a few chips. I looked down at him and he was staring at the chips. Actually, his hand. His right hand. His knuckles. They were faintly bruised and lightly scarred. My breathing hitched.

"That dick will never hurt you again. No one will, I promise. I hope you know that." He whispered as he continued to analyze his knuckles. My heart was beating out of my chest; I could hardly put together words.

I lightly laid my hand over his and he lifted his head off my shoulder to look at me. "Thank you Edward." I whispered almost inaudibly.

I strained to bring my hand back to my lap, but it took heartache and strife. I didn't even know this guy, but it felt like I was removing my own skin. It wasn't right.

Our hands touched for 21 seconds; the longest yet shortest period of time I ever experienced.

I brought a chip to my mouth and let my fingers rest on my lips for just a moment. We waited for the sunrise in a beautiful silence. Each and every one of lost in our own thoughts. Soon enough, the sky shone orange and pink. The colors carefully made their way across the pale slate of sky, crawling into the notches and crevices of the morning clouds. We regarded this discreet invasion of the blue with sober scrutiny. We reflected on our own lives and what foreseeable forces were set to conquer.


End file.
